SE^^!^ 


BK 


In  His  Image 


By 

William  Jennings  Bryan 

In  His  Image, 

James  Sprunt  Lectures.     l2mo,  cloth  .    .   .    .  $1.75 
Heart  to  Heart  Appeals, 

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The  Prince  of  Peace, 

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Messages  for  the  Times, 

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The  First  Commandment, 
In  simple,  unaffected  language,  the  author  en- 
larges upon  the  present-day  breaches  of  the  First 
Commandment. 

The  Message  from  Bethlehem. 
A  plea  for   the  world-wide  adoption  of  the  spirit 
of  the  Angels'  song — "  Good-will  to  Men."  The 
context  and   import  of  this   great  principle  has 
never  been  more  understandingly  set  forth. 

The  Royal  Art. 

A  lucid  exposition  of  Mr.  Bryan's  views  concern- 
ing the  aims  and  ideals  of  righteous  government. 

The  Making  of  a  Man. 

A  faithful  tracing  of  the  main  lines  to  be  followed 

if  the  crown  of  manhood  is  to  be  attained. 

The  Fruits  of  the  Tree. 
"  Either  for  the  reinvigoration  of  faith  or  for  the 
dissipation  of  doubt,  this  little  volume  is  %  docu- 
ment of  power." — Continent. 


In  His  Image 


WILLIAM   JENNINGS  BRYAN 


•*  So  God  created  man  in  his  own  image y  in  the 
image  of  God  created  he  him." — Gen.  I  :  27. 


New  York  Chicago 

Fleming    H.     Revell    Company 


London 


AND 


Edinburgh 


Copyright,  1922,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


New  York;  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  17  North  Wabash  Ave. 
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Dedicated  to  the  memory  of  my 
beloved  parents 

SILAS  LILLARD  BRTAN 

and 
MARIAN  ELIZABETH  BRTAN 

to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  a  Christian 
e7tvironment  in  youth,  during  which  they 
instilled  into  my  mind  and  imprinted 
upon  my  heart  the  religious  principles 
which  I  have  set  forth  and  applied  in 
the   lectures   contained  in   this  volume 


THE  JAMES  SPRUNT  LECTURES 

IN  nineteen  hundred  and  eleven,  Mr.  James  Sprunt 
of  Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  by  a  gift  to  the 
Trustees  of  Union  Theological  Seminary  in  Virginia, 
established  a  lectureship  in  the  Seminary  for  the  pur- 
pose of  enabling  the  institution  to  secure  from  time  to 
time  the  services  of  distinguished  men  as  special  lectur- 
ers on  subjects  connected  with  various  departments  of 
Christian  thought  and  Christian  work.  The  lecturers 
are  chosen  by  the  Faculty  and  a  committee  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees,  and  the  lectures  are  published  after  their 
delivery  in  accordance  with  a  contract  between  the 
lecturer  and  these  representatives  of  the  institution. 
The  lecturers  up  to  the  present  have  been  : 

Rev.  David  James  Burrell,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 
Sir  William  M.  Ramsay,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 
Rev.  Prof.  James  Stalker,  D.  D. 
Rev.  a.  F.  Schauffler,  D.  D. 
Rev.  Harris  E.  Kirk,  D.  D. 
Prof.  C.  Alphonso  Smith,  Ph.  D.,  LL.  D. 
Rev.  a.  H.  McKinney,  D.  D. 
Rev.  G.  Campbell  Morgan,  D,  D. 
Rev.  Prof.  J.  Gresham  Machen,  D.  D. 
Hon.  William  Jennings  Bryan. 
The  tenth  series  is  presented  in  this  volume. 

W.  W.  MOORE, 

Fresident. 


Preface 

THE  invitation  extended  me  by  President 
Moore  on  behalf  of  Union  Theological 
Seminary  provided  the  opportunity  for  the 
presentation  of  an  argument  I  had  had  in  mind  for 
years — an  argument  to  the  heart  and  mind  of  the 
average  man,  especially  to  the  young.  This  purpose 
originated  in  two  desires,  one  of  v^hich  is  to  repay  the 
debt  of  gratitude  that  I  owe  to  my  revered  parents  for 
having  brought  into  my  life  the  Christian  principles 
upon  which  their  own  lives  were  builded.  My  ap- 
preciation of  the  importance  of  this  early  training  has 
grown  with  the  years.  As  those  who  brought  me  into 
the  world,  cared  for  me  so  tenderly  during  my  early 
years  and  so  conscientiously  guarded  and  guided  me 
during  the  formative  period  of  my  life,  have  passed  to 
their  reward,  I  know  of  no  way  in  which  this  apprecia- 
tion can  be  effectively  expressed,  except  by  transmit- 
ting these  principles  to  others. 

The  second  desire  is  to  aid  those  who  are  passing 
from  youth  to  maturity  and  grappling  with  problems 
incident  to  this  critical  age.  Having  spent  eight  years 
away  from  home,  in  academy,  college  and  law 
school,  I  have  reason  to  know  the  conflicts  through 
which  each  individual  has  to  pass,  especially  those  who 
have  the  experience  incident  to  college  life.     I  never 

7 


8  PBEFACE 

can  be  thankful  enough  for  the  fact  that  I  became  a 
member  of  the  Church  before  I  left  home  and  there- 
fore had  the  benefit  of  the  Church,  the  Sunday  School 
and  Christian  friends  during  these  trying  days. 

In  these  lectures  I  have  had  in  mind  two  thoughts, 
first,  the  confirming  of  the  faith  of  men  and  women, 
especially  the  young,  in  a  Creator,  all-powerful,  all- 
wise,  and  all-loving,  in  a  Bible,  as  the  very  Word 
of  a  Living  God  and  in  Christ  as  Son  of  God  and 
Saviour  of  the  world ;  second,  the  applying  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  our  religion  to  every  problem  in  life.  My 
purpose  is  to  prove,  not  only  the  fact  of  God,  but  the 
need  of  God,  the  fact  of  the  Bible  and  the  need  of  the 
Bible,  and  the  fact  of  Christ  and  the  need  of  a  Saviour. 

Therefore,  I  have  chosen  "  In  His  Image  "  as  the 
title  of  this  series  of  lectures,  because,  in  my  judgment, 
all  depends  upon  our  conception  of  our  place  in  God's 
plan.  The  Bible  tells  us  that  God  made  us  in  His 
image  and  placed  us  here  to  carry  out  a  divine  decree. 
He  gave  us  the  Scriptures  as  an  authoritative  guide  and 
He  gave  us  His  Son  to  reveal  the  Father,  to  redeem 
man  from  sin  and  to  furnish  in  His  life  and  teachings 
an  inspiring  example  by  the  following  of  which,  man 
may  grow  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  God. 

"  Let  the  words  of  my  mouth,  and  the  meditation  of 
my  heart,  be  acceptable  in  thy  sight,  O  Lord,  my 
strength,  and  my  redeemer." 

W.  J.  B. 

Miami,  Fla. 


Contents 

I. 

**  In  the  Beginning — God  " 

II 

II. 

The  Bible 

34 

III. 

What  Think  Ye  of  Christ  ?     .        .        . 

60 

IV. 

The  Origin  of  Man  .... 

.      86 

V. 

The  Larger  Life      .... 

136 

VI. 

The  Value  of  the  Soul  . 

.     163 

VII. 

Three  Priceless  Gifts     . 

194 

VIII. 

"  His  Government  and  Peace  " 

220 

IX. 

The  Spoken  Word    .... 

.     248 

"  IN  THE  BEGINNING— GOD  " 

RELIGION  is  the  relation  between  man  and 
his  Maker — the  most  important  relationship 
into  which  man  enters.  Most  of  the  relation- 
ships of  life  are  voluntary;  we  enter  into  them  or  not 
as  we  please.  Such,  for  illustration,  are  those  between 
business  partners,  between  stockholders  in  a  corpora- 
tion, between  friends  and  between  husband  and  wife. 
Some  relationships,  on  the  other  hand,  are  involun- 
tary ;  we  enter  into  them  because  we  must.  Such,  for 
illustration,  are  those  between  man  and  his  govern- 
ment, between  man  and  society,  and  between  man  and 
his  Maker. 

Tolstoy  declares  that  morality  is  but  the  outward 
manifestation  of  religion.  If  this  be  true,  as  I  believe 
it  is,  then  religion  is  the  most  practical  thing  in  life 
and  the  thought  of  God  the  greatest  thought  that  can 
enter  the  human  mind  or  heart.  Tolstoy  also  delivers  a 
severe  rebuke  to  what  he  calls  the  "Cultured  crowd"— 
those  who  think  that  religion,  while  good  enough  for 
the  Ignorant  (to  hold  in  check  and  restrain  them),  is 
not  needed  when  one  reaches  a  certain  stage  of  in- 
tellectual development.  His  reply  is  that  religion  is 
not  superstition  and  does  not  rest  upon  a  vague  fear 
of  the  unseen  forces  of  nature,  but  does  rest  upon 
"  man's  consciousness  of  his  finiteness  amid  an  in- 


12  "  IN  THE  BEGINNING— GOD '' 

finite  universe  and  of  his  sinfulness/'    This  conscious- 
ness, Tolstoy  adds,  man  can  never  outgrow. 

Evidence  of  the  existence  of  an  Infinite  Being  is  to 
be  found  in  the  Bible,  in  the  facts  of  human  conscious- 
ness, and  in  the  physical  universe.  Dr.  Charles  Hodge 
sets  forth  as  follows  the  principal  arguments  used  to 
maintain  the  existence  of  a  God; 

I.  The  a  priori  argument  which  seeks  to  demonstrate 
the  being  of  a  God  from  certain  first  principles  involved 
in  the  essential  laws  of  human  intelligence. 

II.  The  cosmological  argument,  or  that  one  which 
proceeds  after  the  posteriori  fashion,  from  the  present 
existence  of  the  world  as  an  effect,  to  the  necessary  ex- 
istence of  some  ultimate  and  eternal  first  cause. 

III.  The  teleological  argument,  or  that  argument 
which,  from  the  evidence  of  design  in  the  creation,  seeks 
to  establish  the  fact  that  the  great  self-existent  first  cause 
of  all  things  is  an  intelligent  and  voluntary  personal 
spirit. 

IV.  The  moral  argument,  or  that  argument  which, 
from  a  consideration  of  the  phenomena  of  conscience  in 
the  human  heart,  seeks  to  establish  the  fact  that  the  self- 
existent  Creator  is  also  the  righteous  moral  Governor  of 
the  world.  This  argument  includes  the  consideration  of 
the  universal  feeling  of  dependence  common  to  all  men, 
which  together  with  conscience  constitutes  the  religious 
sentiment. 

V.  The  historical  argument,  which  Involves:  (i)  The 
evident  providential  presence  of  God  in  the  history  of  the 
human  race.  (2)  The  evidence  afforded  by  history  that 
the  human  race  is  not  eternal,  and  therefore  not  an  in- 
finite succession  of  Individuals,  but  created.  (3)  The 
universal  consent  of  all  men  to  the  fact  of  His  existence. 

VI.  The  Scriptural  argument,  which  includes:  (i) 
The  miracles  and  prophecies  recorded  In  Scripture,  and 
confirmed  by  testimony,  proving  the  existence  of  a  God. 
(2)  The  Bible  Itself,  self-evidently  a  work  of  superhuman 


"  IN  THE  BEGINNING— GOD  "  13 

wisdom.  (3)  Revelation,  developing  and  enlightening 
conscience,  and  relieving  many  of  the  difficulties  under 
which  natural  theism  labours,  and  thus  confirming  every 
other  line  of  evidence. 

A  reasonable  person  searches  for  a  reason  and  all 
reasons  point  to  a  God,  all-wise,  all-powerful,  and  all- 
loving.  On  no  other  theory  can  we  account  for  what 
we  see  about  us.  It  is  impossible  to  conceive  of  the 
universe,  illimitable  in  extent  and  seemingly  measure- 
less in  time,  as  being  the  result  of  chance.  The  reign 
of  law,  universal  and  eternal,  compels  belief  in  a  Law 
Giver. 

We  need  not  give  much  time  to  the  agnostic.  If  he 
is  sincere  he  does  not  know  and  therefore  cannot  af- 
firm, deny  or  advise.  When  I  was  a  young  man  I 
wrote  to  Colonel  Ingersoll,  the  leading  infidel  of  his 
day,  and  asked  his  views  on  God  and  immortality. 
His  secretary  sent  me  a  speech  which  quoted  Colonel 
Ingersoll  as  follows:  "I  do  not  say  that  there  is  no 
God:  I  simply  say  I  do  not  know.  I  do  not  say  that 
there  is  no  life  beyond  the  grave:  I  simply  say  I  do 
not  know!"  What  pleasure  could  any  man  find  in 
taking  from  a  human  heart  a  living  faith  and  putting 
in  the  place  of  it  the  cold  and  cheerless  doctrine  "  I 
do  not  know  "  ?  Many  who  call  themselves  agnostics 
are  really  atheists ;  it  is  easier  to  profess  ignorance  than 
to  defend  atheism. 

We  give  the  atheist  too  much  latitude ;  we  allow  him 
to  ask  all  the  questions  and  we  try  to  answer  them. 
I  know  of  no  reason  why  the  Christian  should  take 
upon  himself  the  difficult  task  of  answering  all  queS' 


U  ''  IN  THE  BEGINNING— GOD  »' 

tions  and  give  to  the  atheist  the  easy  task  of  asking 
them.  Any  one  can  ask  questions,  but  not  every  ques- 
tion can  be  answered.  If  I  am  to  discuss  creation  with 
an  atheist  it  will  be  on  condition  that  we  ask  questions 
about.  He  may  ask  the  first  one  if  he  wishes,  but  he 
shall  not  ask  a  second  one  until  he  answers  my  first. 

What  is  the  first  question  an  atheist  asks  a  Chris- 
tian? There  is  but  one  first  question:  Where  do  you 
begin?  I  answer:  I  begin  where  the  Bible  begins. 
"  In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heavens  and  the 
earth."  I  begin  with  a  Creative  Cause  that  is  sufficient 
for  anything  that  can  come  thereafter. 

Having  answered  the  atheist's  first  question,  it  is 
now  my  turn,  and  I  ask  my  first  question  of  the  athe- 
ist: "Where  do  you  begin?"  And  then  his  trouble 
begins.  Did  you  ever  hear  an  atheist  explain  creation  ? 
He  cannot  begin  with  God  because  he  denies  the  exist- 
ence of  a  God.  But  he  must  begin  somewhere;  it  is 
just  as  necessary  for  the  atheist  as  for  the  Christian 
to  have  a  beginning  point  for  his  philosophy. 

Where  does  the  atheist  begin?  He  usually  starts 
with  the  nebular  hypothesis.  And  where  does  that 
begin  ?  "  In  the  beginning  "  ?  No.  It  begins  by  as- 
suming that  two  things  existed,  which  the  theory  does 
not  try  to  explain.  It  assumes  that  matter  and  force 
existed,  but  it  does  not  tell  us  how  matter  and  force 
came  into  existence,  where  they  came  from,  or 
why  they  came.  The  theory  begins:  "Let  us  sup- 
pose that  matter  and  force  are  here,"  and  then,  ac- 
cording to  the  theory,  force  working  on  matter,  cre- 
ated a  world.    I  have  just  as  much  right  as  the  athe- 


**  IN  THE  BEGINNING—GOD '»  15 

ist  to  begin  with  an  assumption,  and  I  would  rather 
begin  with  God  and  reason  down,  than  begin  with  a 
piece  of  dirt  and  reason  up.  The  difference  between 
the  Christian  theory  and  the  materiaHstic  theory  is 
that  the  Christian  begins  with  God,  while  the  mate- 
rialist begins  with  dull,  inanimate  matter.  /  know  of 
no  theory  suggested  as  a  substitute  for  the  Bible  theory 
that  is  as  rational  and  as  easy  to  believe. 

If  the  atheist  asks  me  if  I  can  understand  God,  I 
answer  that  it  is  not  necessary  that  my  finite  mind 
shall  comprehend  the  Infinite  Mind  before  I  admit  that 
there  is  an  infinite  mind,  any  more  than  it  is  necessary 
that  I  shall  understand  the  sun  before  I  can  admit 
that  there  is  a  sun.  We  must  deal  with  the  facts  about 
us  whether  we  can  understand  them  or  not. 

If  the  atheist  tells  me  that  I  have  no  right  to  be- 
lieve in  God  until  I  can  understand  Him,  I  will  take 
his  own  logic  and  drive  him  to  suicide;  for,  by  that 
logic,  what  right  has  an  atheist  to  live  unless  he  can 
understand  the  mystery  of  his  own  life?  Does  the 
atheist  understand  the  mystery  of  the  life  he  lives? 
No;  bring  me  the  most  learned  atheist  and  when  he 
has  gathered  all  the  information  that  this  earth  can 
give,  I  will  have  a  little  child  lead  him  out  and  show 
him  the  grass  upon  the  ground,  the  leaves  upon  the 
trees,  the  birds  that  fly  in  the  air,  and  the  fishes  in  the 
deep,  and  the  little  child  will  mock  him  and  tell  him, 
and  tell  him  truly,  that  he,  the  little  child,  knows  just 
as  much  about  the  mystery  of  life  as  does  the  most 
learned  atheist.  We  have  our  thoughts,  our  hopes, 
our  fears,  and  yet  we  know  that  in  a  moment  a  change 


16  **  IN  THE  BEGINNING— GOD  " 

may  come  over  any  one  of  us  that  will  convert  a  living, 
breathing  human  being  into  a  mass  of  lifeless  clay. 
What  is  it,  that,  having,  we  live,  and,  having  not,  we 
are  as  the  clod?  We  know  as  little  of  the  mystery  of 
life  to-day  as  they  knew  in  the  dawn  of  creation  and 
yet  behold  the  civilization  that  man  has  wrought. 

And  love  that  makes  life  worth  living  is  also  a 
mystery.  Have  you  ever  read  a  scientific  definition  of 
love?  You  never  will.  Why?  Because  a  man 
does  not  know  what  love  is  until  he  gets  into  it, 
and  then  he  is  not  scientific  until  he  gets  out  again. 
And  even  if  we  could  understand  the  mysterious  tie 
that  brings  two  hearts  together  from  out  the  multitude, 
and  on  a  united  life  builds  the  home,  earth's  only  para- 
dise, we  still  would  be  unable  to  understand  that  larger 
mystery  that  manifests  itself  when  a  human  heart 
reaches  out  and  links  itself  to  every  other  heart. 

And  patriotism,  also,  is  a  mystery — intangible,  in- 
visible, and  yet  eternal.  Because  there  has  been  in  the 
past  such  a  thing  as  patriotism,  millions  have  given 
their  lives  for  their  country.  Patriotism  could  com- 
mand millions  of  lives  to-day.  Our  country  is  not  lack- 
ing in  patriotism;  we  have  as  much  as  can  be  found 
anywhere  else,  and  it  is  of  as  high  a  quality.  There 
ought  to  be  more  patriotism  here  than  elsewhere;  as 
citizenship  in  the  United  States  carries  more  benefits 
with  it  than  citizenship  in  any  other  land,  the  Ameri- 
can citizen  should  be  willing  to  sacrifice  more  than 
any  other  citizen  to  make  sure  that  the  blessings  of 
our  government  shall  descend  unimpaired  to  children 
and  to  children's  children.    The  atheist  knows  as  lit- 


**  IN  THE  BEGINNING— GOD '»  17 

tie  about  these  mysteries  as  the  Christian  does  and  yet 
he  Hves,  he  loves  and  he  is  patriotic. 

But  our  case  is  even  stronger:  Everything  with 
which  man  deals  is  full  of  mystery.  The  very  food 
we  eat  is  mysterious;  sometimes  man-made  food  be- 
comes so  mysterious  that  we  are  compelled  to  enact 
pure  food  laws  in  order  that  we  may  know  what  we 
are  eating.  And  God-made  food  is  as  mysterious  as 
man-made  food,  though  we  cannot  compel  Jehovah  to 
make  known  the  formula. 

We  encourage  children  to  raise  vegetables;  a  little 
child  can  learn  how  to  raise  vegetables,  but  no  grown 
person  understands  the  mystery  that  is  wrapped  up  in 
every  vegetable  that  grows.  Let  me  illustrate:  I  am 
fond  of  radishes;  my  good  wife  knows  it  and  keeps 
me  supplied  with  them  when  she  can.  I  eat  radishes 
in  the  morning ;  I  eat  radishes  at  noon ;  I  eat  radishes 
at  night ;  I  eat  radishes  between  meals ;  I  like  radishes. 
I  plant  radish  seed — put  the  little  seed  into  the  ground, 
and  go  out  in  a  few  days  and  find  a  full  grown  radish. 
The  top  is  green,  the  body  of  the  root  is  white  and 
almost  transparent,  and  around  it  I  sometimes  find  a 
delicate  pink  or  red.  Whose  hand  caught  the  hues  of 
a  summer  sunset  and  wrapped  them  around  the  rad- 
ish's root  down  there  in  the  darkness  in  the  ground? 
I  cannot  understand  a  radish;  can  you?  If  one  re- 
fused to  eat  anything  until  he  could  understand  the 
mystery  of  its  growth,  he  would  die  of  starvation;  but 
mystery  does  not  bother  us  in  the  dining-room, — it  is 
only  in  the  church  that  mystery  seems  to  give  us 
trouble. 


18  *'  IN  THE  BEGINNING— GOD '' 

In  travelling  around  tlie  world  I  found  that  the  Qgg 
is  a  universal  form  of  food.  When  we  reached  Asia 
the  cooking  was  so  different  from  ours  that  the  boiled 
egg  was  sometimes  the  only  home-like  thing  we  could 
find  on  the  table.  I  became  so  attached  to  the  egg, 
that,  when  I  returned  to  the  United  States,  for  weeks 
I  felt  like  taking  my  hat  off  to  every  hen  I  met.  What 
is  more  mysterious  than  an  egg?  Take  a  fresh  egg; 
it  is  not  only  good  food,  but  an  important  article  of 
merchandise.  But  loan  a  fresh  egg  to  a  hen,  after 
the  hen  has  developed  a  well-settled  tendency  to  sit, 
and  let  her  keep  the  egg  under  her  for  a  week,  and,  as 
any  housewife  will  tell  you,  it  loses  a  large  part  of  its 
market  value.  But  be  patient  with  the  hen;  let  her 
have  it  for  two  weeks  more  and  she  will  give  you  back 
a  chicken  that  you  could  not  find  in  the  egg.  No  one 
can  understand  the  egg,  but  we  all  like  eggs. 

Water  is  essential  to  human  life,  and  has  been  from 
the  beginning,  but  it  is  only  a  short  time  ago,  relatively 
speaking,  that  we  learned  that  water  is  composed  of 
gas.  Two  gases  got  mixed  together  and  could  not  get 
apart  and  we  call  the  mixture  water,  but  it  was  much 
more  important  that  man  should  have  had  water  to 
drink  all  these  years  than  it  was  to  find  out  that  water 
is  composed  of  gas.  And  there  is  one  thing  about 
water  that  we  do  not  yet  understand,  viz.,  why  it  differs 
from  other  things  in  this,  that  other  things  continue 
to  contract  indefinitely  under  the  influence  of  cold, 
while  water  contracts  until  it  reaches  a  certain  tem- 
perature and  then,  the  rule  being  reversed,  expands 
under  the  influence  of  more  intense  cold  ?    It  does  not 


"  m  THE  BEGINNING— GOD  ^'  19 

make  much  difference  whether  we  ever  learn  why  this 
is  true,  but  it  is  important  to  the  world  to  know  that 
it  is  so. 

Sometimes  I  go  into  a  community  and  find  a  young 
man  who  has  come  in  from  the  country  and  obtained 
a  smattering  of  knowledge;  then  his  head  swells  and 
he  begins  to  swagger  around  and  say  that  an  intelli- 
gent man  like  himself  cannot  afford  to  have  anything 
to  do  with  anything  that  he  cannot  understand.  Poor 
boy,  he  will  be  surprised  to  find  out  how  few  things 
he  will  be  able  to  deal  with  if  he  adopts  that  rule.  I 
feel  like  suggesting  to  him  that  the  next  time  he  goes 
home  to  show  himself  off  to  his  parents  on  the  farm 
he  address  himself  to  the  first  mystery  that  ever  came 
under  his  observation,  and  has  not  yet  been  solved, 
notwithstanding  the  wonderful  progress  made  by  our 
agricultural  colleges.  Let  him  find  out,  if  he  can,  why 
it  is  that  a  black  cow  can  eat  green  grass  and  then  give 
white  milk  with  yellow  butter  in  it  ?  Will  the  mystery 
disturb  him?  No.  He  will  enjoy  the  milk  and  the 
butter  without  worrying  about  the  mystery  in  them. 

And  so  we  might  take  any  vegetable  or  fruit.  The 
blush  upon  the  peach  is  in  striking  contrast  to  the 
serried  walls  of  the  seed  within;  who  will  explain  the 
mystery  of  the  apple,  the  queen  of  the  orchard,  or 
the  nut  with  its  meat,  its  shell,  and  its  outer  covering? 
Who  taught  the  tomato  vine  to  fling  Its  flaming  many- 
mansioned  fruit  before  the  gaze  of  the  passer-by,  while 
the  potato  modestly  conceals  its  priceless  gifts  within 
the  bosom  of  the  earth  ? 

I  learned  years  ago  that  it  is  the  mystery  in  the 


20  ''m  THE  BEGINNING— GOD '' 

miracle  that  makes  it  a  stumbling  block  in  the  way  of 
many.  If  you  will  analyze  the  miracle  you  will  find 
just  two  questions  in  it:  Can  God  perform  a  miracle? 
And,  would  He  want  to?  The  first  question  is  easily 
answered.  A  God  who  can  make  a  world  can  do  any- 
thing He  wants  to  with  it.  We  cannot  deny  that  God 
can  perform  a  miracle,  without  denying  that  God  is 
God.  But,  would  God  want  to  perform  a  miracle? 
That  is  the  question  that  has  given  the  trouble,  but  it 
has  only  troubled  those,  mark  you,  who  are  unwilling 
to  admit  that  the  infinite  mind  of  God  may  have  rea- 
sons that  the  finite  mind  of  man  does  not  compre- 
hend. If,  for  any  reason,  God  desires  to  do  so,  can 
He  not,  with  His  infinite  strength,  temporarily  sus- 
pend the  operation  of  any  of  His  laws,  as  man  v/ith  his 
feeble  arm  overcomes  the  law  of  gravitation  when  he 
lifts  a  stone? 

If  among  my  readers  any  one  has  been  pre- 
sumptuous enough  to  attempt  to  confine  the  power 
and  purpose  of  God  by  man's  puny  understanding,  let 
me  persuade  him  to  abandon  this  absurd  position  by 
the  use  of  an  illustration  which  I  once  found  in  a 
watermelon.  I  was  passing  through  Columbus,  Ohio, 
some  years  ago  and  stopped  to  eat  in  the  restaurant 
in  the  depot.  My  attention  was  called  to  a  slice  of 
watermelon,  and  I  ordered  it  and  ate  it.  I  was  so 
pleased  with  the  melon  that  I  asked  the  waiter  to  dry 
some  of  the  seeds  that  I  might  take  them  home  and 
plant  them  in  my  garden.  That  night  a  thought  came 
into  my  mind — I  would  use  that  watermelon  as  an 
illustration.     So,  the  next  morning  when  I  reached 


"  IN  THE  BEGINNING— GOD  ^'  21 

Chicago,  I  had  enough  seeds  weighed  to  learn  that 
it  would  take  about  five  thousand  watermelon  seeds 
to  weigh  a  pound,  and  I  estimated  that  the  water- 
melon weighed  about  forty  pounds.  Then  I  applied 
mathematics  to  the  watermelon.  A  few  weeks  before 
some  one,  I  knew  not  who,  had  planted  a  little  water- 
melon seed  in  the  ground.  Under  the  influence  of 
sunshine  and  shower  that  little  seed  had  taken  off  its 
coat  and  gone  to  work;  it  had  gathered  from  some- 
where two  hundred  thousand  times  its  own  weight, 
and  forced  that  enormous  weight  through  a  tiny  stem 
and  built  a  watermelon.  On  the  outside  it  had  put  a 
covering  of  green,  within  that  a  rind  of  white  and 
within  the  white  a  core  of  red,  and  then  it  had  scat- 
tered through  the  red  core  little  seeds,  each  one  ca- 
pable of  doing  the  same  work  over  again.  What  archi- 
tect drew  the  plan?  Where  did  that  little  watermelon 
seed  get  its  tremendous  strength?  Where  did  it  find 
its  flavouring  extract  and  its  colouring  matter  ?  How 
did  it  build  a  watermelon?  Until  you  can  explain  a 
watermelon,  do  not  be  too  sure  that  you  can  set  limits 
to  the  power  of  the  Almighty,  or  tell  just  what  He 
would  do,  or  how  He  would  do  it.  The  most  learned 
man  in  the  world  cannot  explain  a  watermelon,  but  the 
most  ignorant  man  can  eat  a  watermelon,  and  enjoy 
it.  God  has  given  us  the  things  that  we  need,  and  He 
has  given  us  the  knowledge  necessary  to  use  those 
things:  the  truth  that  He  has  revealed  to  us  is  in- 
finitely more  Important  for  our  welfare  than  it  would 
be  to  understand  the  mysteries  that  He  has  seen  fit  to 
conceal  from  us.    So  it  is  with  religion.    If  you  ask 


22  "  IN  THE  BEGINNING— GOD '» 

me  whether  I  understand  everything  in  the  Bible,  I 
frankly  answer,  No.  I  understand  some  things  to-day 
that  I  did  not  understand  ten  years  ago  and,  if  I  live 
ten  years  longer,  I  trust  that  some  things  will  be  clear 
that  are  now  obscure.  But  there  is  something  more 
important  than  understanding  everything  in  the  Bible ; 
it  is  this:  If  we  will  embody  in  our  lives  that  which 
we  do  understand  we  will  be  kept  so  busy  doing  good 
that  we  will  not  have  time  to  worry  about  the  things 
that  we  do  not  understand. 

In  "  The  Grave  Digger,"  written  by  Fred  Emerson 
Brooks,  there  is  one  stanza  which  is  in  point  here: 

*'  If  chance  could  fashion  but  a  little  flower. 
With  perfume  for  each  tiny  thief, 

And  furnish  it  with  sunshine  and  with  shower. 
Then  chance  would  be  creator,  with  the  power 

To  build  a  world  for  unbelief." 

But  chance  cannot  fashion  even  a  little  flower;  chance 
cannot  create  a  single  thing  that  grows.  Every  living 
thing  bears  testimony  to  a  living  God  and,  if  there  be 
a  God,  then  every  human  life  is  a  part  of  that  God's 
plan.  And,  if  this  be  true,  then  the  highest  duty  of 
man,  as  it  should  be  his  greatest  pleasure,  is  to  try 
to  find  out  God's  will  concerning  himself  and  to  do  it. 
When  Job  was  asked,  "  Canst  thou  by  searching 
find  out  God  ?  "  a  negative  answer  was  implied,  but 
we  can  see  manifestations  of  God's  power  everywhere; 
in  the  suns  and  planets  that,  revolving,  whirl  through 
space,  held  in  position  by  forces  centripetal  and  centrif- 
ugal ;  we  see  it  in  the  mountains  rent  asunder  and  up- 
turned by  a  force  not  only  superhuman  but  beyond 


"  IN  THE  BEGINNING— GOD  "  23 

the  power  of  man  to  conceive.  Captain  Crawford, 
the  poet-scout,  in  describing  the  mountains  of  the 
West  has  used  a  phrase  which  often  comes  into  my 
mind:  "  Where  the  hand  of  God  is  seen." 

We  see  manifestation  of  God's  power  in  the  ebb 
and  flow  of  the  tides;  in  the  mighty  "shoreless 
rivers  of  the  ocean  " ;  in  the  suspended  water  in  the 
clouds — billions  of  tons,  seemingly  defying  the  law  of 
gravitation  while  they  await  the  command  that  sends 
them  down  in  showers  of  blessings.  We  behold  it  in 
the  lightning's  flash  and  the  thunder's  roar,  and  in  the 
invisible  germ  of  life  that  contains  wiihin  itself  the 
power  to  gather  its  nourishment  from  the  earth  and 
air,  fulfill  its  mission  and  propagate  its  kind. 

We  see  all  about  us,  also,  conclusive  proofs  of  the 
infinite  intelligence  and  fathomless  love  of  the 
Heavenly  Father.  On  lofty  mountain  summits  He 
builds  His  mighty  reservoirs  and  piles  high  the  winter 
snows,  which,  melting,  furnish  the  water  for  singing 
brooks,  for  the  hidden  veins,  and  for  the  springs  that 
pour  out  their  refreshing  flood  through  the  smitten 
rocks.  At  His  touch  the  same  element  that  furnishes 
ice  to  cool  the  fevered  brow  furnishes  also  the  steam 
to  move  man's  commerce  on  sea  and  land.  He  Im- 
prisons In  roaring  cataracts  exhaustless  energy  for  the 
service  of  man:  He  stores  away  In  the  bowels  of  the 
earth  beds  of  coal  and  rivers  of  oil;  He  studs  the 
canyon's  frowning  walls  with  precious  metals  and 
priceless  gems;  He  extends  His  magic  wand,  and  the 
soil  becomes  rich  with  fertility;  the  early  and  the  lat- 
ter rains  supply  the  needed  moisture,  and  the  sun,  with 


24  <*  IN  THE  BEGINNING— GOD  ^' 

its  marvellous  alchemy,  transmutes  base  clay  into 
golden  grain.  He  gives  us  in  infinite  variety  the  fruits 
of  the  orchard,  the  vegetables  of  the  garden  and  the 
berries  of  the  woods.  He  gives  us  the  sturdy  oak,  the 
fruitful  nut-tree  and  the  graceful  palm. 

In  compassion  He  makes  the  horse  to  bear  our  bur- 
dens and  the  cow  to  supply  the  dairy;  and  He  gives 
us  the  faithful  hen.  He  makes  the  fishes  to  scour  the 
sea  for  food  and  then  yield  themselves  up  to  the  table ; 
He  sends  the  bee  forth  to  gather  sweets  for  man  and 
birds  to  sing  his  cares  away.  He  paints  the  skies  with 
the  gray  of  the  morning  and  the  glow  of  the  sunset; 
He  sets  His  radiant  bow  in  the  clouds  and  copies  its 
colours  in  myriad  flowers.  He  gives  to  the  babe  a 
mother's  love,  to  the  child  a  father's  care,  to  parents 
the  joy  of  children,  to  brothers  and  sisters  the  sweet 
association  of  the  fireside,  and  He  gives  to  all  the 
friend.  Well  may  the  Psalmist  exclaim, ''  The  heavens 
declare  the  glory  of  God ;  and  the  firmament  showeth 
his  handywork.  Day  unto  day  uttereth  speech,  and 
night  unto  night  sheweth  knowledge."  Surely  every- 
thing that  hath  breath  should  praise  the  Lord. 

It  would  seem  that  a  knowledge  of  nature  would  be 
sufficient  to  convince  any  unprejudiced  mind  that  there 
is  a  designer  back  of  the  design,  a  Creator  back  of  the 
creation,  but,  for  a  reason  which  I  shall  treat  more 
fully  in  a  future  lecture,  some  of  the  scientists  have 
become  materialistic.  The  doctrine  of  evolution  has 
closed  their  hearts  to  the  plainest  of  spiritual  truths 
and  opened  their  minds  to  the  wildest  guesses  made  in 
the  name  of  science.     If  they  find  a  piece  of  pottery 


"  IN  THE  BEGINNING— GOD  "  26 

in  a  mound,  supposed  to  be  ancient,  they  will  venture 
to  estimate  the  degree  of  civilization  of  the  designer 
from  the  rude  scratches  on  its  surface,  and  yet  they 
cannot  discern  the  evidences  of  design  which  the  Cre- 
ator has  written  upon  every  piece  of  His  handiwork. 
They  can  understand  how  an  invisible  force,  like 
gravitation,  can  draw  all  matter  down  to  the  earth  but 
they  cannot  comprehend  an  invisible  God  who  draws 
all  spirits  upward  to  His  throne. 

The  Bible's  proof  of  God  becomes  increasingly 
necessary  to  meet  the  agnosticism  and  atheism  that  are 
the  outgrowth  of  modern  mind- worship.  I  shall  speak 
of  the  Bible  in  my  second  lecture;  I  refer  to  it  here 
merely  for  the  purpose  of  pointing  out  the  harmony 
between  the  spoken  word  and  the  evidence  furnished 
by  God's  handiwork  throughout  the  universe.  The 
wisdom  of  the  Bible  writers  is  more  than  human ;  the 
prophecies  proclaim  a  Supreme  Ruler  who,  though  in- 
habiting all  space,  deigns  to  speak  through  the  hearts 
and  minds  and  tongues  of  His  children. 

The  Christ  of  whom  the  Bible  tells  furnishes  the 
highest  evidence  of  the  power,  the  wisdom,  and  the 
love  of  Jehovah.  He  is  a  living  Christ,  present  to-day 
in  the  increasing  influence  that  He  exerts  over  the 
hearts  of  men  and  over  the  history  of  nations. 

We  not  only  have  God  in  the  Bible  and  God  in 
nature  but  we  have  God  in  life  and  accessible  to 
all.  It  is  not  necessary  to  spend  time  in  trying  to 
comprehend  God — a  task  too  great  for  the  finite  mind ; 
we  can  "taste  and  see  that  the  Lord  is  good."  We 
can  test  His  grace  and  prove  His  presence.    The  nega- 


26  ''m  THE  BEGINNING— GOD  " 

tive  arguments  of  the  atheist  and  the  Indecision  of 
the  agnostic  will  not  disturb  the  faith  of  one  who 
daily  communes  with  the  Heavenly  Father,  and,  by 
obedience,  lays  hold  upon  His  promise. 

Belief  in  God  is  almost  universal  and  the  effect  of 
this  belief  is  so  vast  that  one  is  appalled  at  the  thought 
of  what  social  conditions  would  be  if  reverence  for 
God  were  erased  from  every  heart.  A  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility to  God  for  every  thought  and  word  and 
deed  is  the  most  potent  influence  that  acts  upon  the 
life — for  one  man  kept  in  the  straight  and  narrow  way 
by  fear  of  prison  walls  a  multitude  are  restrained  by 
those  invisible  walls  that  conscience  rears  about  us, 
walls  that  are  stronger  than  the  walls  of  stone. 

At  first  the  fear  of  God — fear  that  sin  will  bring 
punishment — is  needed ;  ''  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the 
beginning  of  wisdom."  But  as  one  learns  to  appre- 
ciate the  goodness  of  God  and  the  plenitude  of  His 
mercy,  love  takes  the  place  of  fear  and  obedience  be- 
comes a  pleasure ;  "  His  delight  is  in  the  law  of  the 
Lord ;  and  in  his  law  doth  he  meditate  day  and  night.'* 

The  paramount  need  of  the  world  to-day,  as  it  was 
nineteen  hundred  years  ago,  is  a  whole-hearted,  whole- 
souled,  whole-minded  faith  in  the  Living  God.  A 
hesitating  admission  that  there  is  a  God  is  not  suffi- 
cient; Man  must  love  with  all  his  heart,  and  with  all 
his  soul,  and  with  all  his  mind,  and  with  all  his 
strength, — and  to  love  he  must  believe.  Belief  in  God 
must  be  a  conviction  that  controls  every  nerve  and  fibre 
of  his  being  and  dominates  every  impulse  and  energy 
of  his  life. 


"  IN  THE  BEGINNING— GOD  "  27 

Belief  in  God  is  necessary  to  prayer.  It  is  not  suf- 
ficient to  believe  that  there  is  an  Intelligence  permeat- 
ing the  universe;  nothing  less  than  a  personal  God — a 
God  interested  in  each  one  of  His  children  and  ready 
to  give  at  any  moment  the  aid  that  is  needed — nothing 
less  than  this  can  lead  one  to  communion  with  the 
Heavenly  Father  through  prayer.  Evolutionists  have 
attempted  to  retain  the  form  of  prayer  while  denying 
that  God  answers  prayer.  They  argue  that  prayer  has 
a  reflex  action  upon  the  petitioner  and  reconciles  him 
to  his  lot.  This  argument  might  justify  one  in  think- 
ing prayer  good  enough  for  others  who  believe,  but  it 
is  impossible  for  one  to  be  fervent  in  prayer  himself  if 
he  is  convinced  that  his  pleas  do  not  reach  a  prayer- 
hearing  and  a  prayer-answering  God.  Prayer  be- 
comes a  mockery  when  faith  is  gone,  just  as  Chris- 
tianity becomes  a  mere  form  when  prayer  is  gone.  If 
the  words  of  the  Bible  have  any  meaning  at  all  one 
must  believe  that  God  ''  is,  and  that  he  is  a  rewarder 
of  them  that  diligently  seek  him.'* 

Belief  in  God  is  necessary  to  that  confidence  In  His 
providence  which  is  the  source  of  the  Christian's  calm- 
ness in  hours  of  trial.  We  soon  reach  the  limitations 
of  our  strength  and  would  despair  but  for  our  con- 
fidence in  the  infinite  wisdom  of  God.  David  ex- 
presses this  when  he  says,  "  Unto  the  upright  there 
arlseth  light  in  the  darkness.  He  .  .  .  shall 
not  be  afraid  of  evil  tidings:  his  heart  is  fixed,  trusting 
in  the  Lord"  (Ps.  112). 

In  my  youth,  my  father  often  had  me  read  to 
him  Bryant's  "  Ode  to  a  Waterfowl "  and  it  became 


28  "  IN  THE  BEGINNING— GOD »' 

my  favourite  poem.  I  know  of  no  more  comforting 
words  outside  of  Holy  Writ  than  those  in  the  last 
stanza: 

"  He  who  from  zone  to  zone. 

Guides  through  the  boundless  sky  thy  certain 
flight; 
In  the  long  way  that  I  must  tread  alone, 
Will  lead  my  steps  aright." 

Belief  in  God  gives  courage.  The  Christian  believes 
that  every  word  spoken  in  behalf  of  truth  will  have 
its  influence  and  that  every  deed  done  for  the  right 
will  weigh  in  the  final  account.  What  matters  it  to 
the  believer  whether  his  eyes  behold  the  victory  and 
his  voice  mingles  in  the  shouts  of  triumph,  or  whether 
he  dies  in  the  midst  of  the  conflict ! 

"  Yea,  tho*  thou  lie  upon  the  dust, 

When  they  who  helped  thee  flee  in  fear, 
Die  full  of  hope  and  manly  trust, 
Like  those  who  fell  in  battle  here. 

.     Another  hand  thy  sword  shall  wield, 
Another  hand  the  standard  wave, 
Till  from  the  trumpet's  mouth  is  pealed, 
The  blast  of  triumph  o'er  thy  grave." 

Only  those  who  believe  attempt  the  seemingly  im- 
possible, and,  by  attempting,  prove  that  one,  with 
God,  can  chase  a  thousand  and  two  put  ten  thousand 
to  flight.  I  can  imagine  that  the  early  Christians,  who 
were  carried  into  the  Coliseum  to  make  a  spectacle  for 
spectators  more  cruel  than  the  beasts,  were  entreated 
by  their  doubting  companions  not  to  endanger  their 


**  IK  THE  BEGINNING— GOD »'  29 

lives.  But,  kneeling  in  the  center  of  the  arena,  they 
prayed  and  sang  until  they  were  devoured.  How  help- 
less they  seemed,  and  measured  by  every  human  rule, 
how  hopeless  was  their  cause !  And  yet  within  a  few 
decades  the  power  which  they  invoked  proved  mightier 
than  the  legions  of  the  emperor  and  the  faith  in  which 
they  died  was  triumphant  o'er  all  the  land.  It  is  said 
that  those  who  went  to  mock  at  their  sufferings  re- 
turned asking  themselves:  "  What  is  it  that  can  enter 
into  the  heart  of  man  and  make  him  die  as  these  die  ?  '* 
They  were  greater  conquerors  in  their  death  than  they 
could  have  been  had  they  purchased  life  by  a  sur- 
render of  their  faith. 

What  would  have  been  the  fate  of  the  Church  if 
the  early  Christians  had  had  as  little  faith  as  many  of 
our  Christians  of  to-day?  And,  if  the  Christians  of 
to-day  had  the  faith  of  the  martyrs,  how  long  would 
it  be  before  the  prophecy  were  fulfilled — "  every  knee 
shall  bow  and  every  tongue  confess  "  ? 

Belief  in  God  is  the  basis  of  every  moral  code. 
Morality  cannot  be  put  on  as  a  garment  and  taken  off 
at  will.  It  is  a  power  within;  it  works  out  from  the 
heart  as  a  spring  pours  forth  its  flood.  It  is  not  safe 
for  a  weak  Christian  to  associate  intimately  with  the 
world  because  he  may  be  influenced  by  others  instead 
of  influencing  others.  But  one  need  not  fear  when 
his  morality  derives  its  energy  from  connection  with 
the  Heavenly  Father.  Just  as  the  water  from  a  hose, 
because  it  comes  from  a  reservoir  above,  will  cleanse 
a  muddy  pool  without  danger  of  a  single  drop  of 
pollution  entering  the  hose,  so  the  Christian  can  go 


30  ''  IN  THE  BEGINNING— GOD  " 

into  infected  areas  and  among  those  diseased  by  sin 
without  fear  of  contamination  so  long  as  he  is 
prompted  by  a  sincere  desire  to  serve  and  is  filled  with 
a  heaven-born  longing  for  souls. 

Joseph  gives  us  a  splendid  illustration  of  strength 
inspired  by  faith.  Reason  fails  when  one  is  punished 
for  righteousness'  sake;  only  a  belief  in  God  can  sus- 
tain one  in  such  an  hour  of  trial  and  make  him  enter 
a  dungeon  rather  than  surrender  his  integrity. 

We  need  this  belief  in  God  in  our  dealings  with 
nations  as  well  as  in  the  control  of  our  own  conduct; 
it  is  necessary  to  the  establishment  of  justice.  With- 
out that  belief  one  cannot  understand  how  sin  brings 
its  own  punishment.  Among  the  beasts  strength  is 
accompanied  by  no  sense  of  responsibility;  only  man 
understands — and  then  only  when  he  believes  in  God 
— that  he  must  restrain  his  power  and  respect  the 
rights  of  others.  Only  man  understands — and  then 
only  when  he  believes  in  God — that  the  laws  of  the 
Almighty  protect  the  innocent  by  bringing  upon  the 
sinner  the  effects  of  his  own  sin.  No  nation,  however 
great,  and  no  group  of  nations,  however  strong,  can 
do  wrong  with  impunity.  The  very  doing  of  wrong 
works  the  ruin  of  those  who  are  guilty,  no  matter  how 
powerless  their  victims  may  be  to  protect  or  avenge 
themselves. 

Most  of  the  crimes  committed  by  nations  are  due  to 
an  attempt  on  the  part  of  those  in  authority  to  estab- 
lish for  nations  a  system  of  morals  totally  different 
from  that  which  is  binding  upon  the  individual.  Noth- 
ing but  a  real  belief  in  God  and  confidence  in  the  im- 


**  IN  THE  BEGINNING— GOD  ''  31 

mutability  of  His  decrees  can  stay  the  arm  of  strength 
in  individual  or  nation. 

Belief  in  God  is  the  basis  of  brotherhood;  we  are 
brothers  because  we  are  children  of  one  God.  We 
trace  through  the  common  parent  of  all  the  tie  that 
unites  the  offspring  in  one  great  family.  The  spirit  of 
brotherhood  is  impossible  without  faith  in  God,  the 
Father,  and  peace,  at  home  and  abroad,  is  impossible 
without  the  spirit  of  brotherhood. 

One  must  believe  in  God  in  order  to  be  interested  in 
the  carrying  out  of  the  Creator's  plans.  In  the  prayer 
which  Christ  suggested  as  a  form  for  His  followers, 
interest  in  the  coming  of  God's  kingdom  stands  first. 
The  petition  begins  with  adoration  of  the  Supreme 
Being  and  in  the  next  sentence  the  heart  pours  out  its 
desire  in  an  appeal  for  the  coming  of  that  day  when 
the  will  of  God  shall  be  done  in  earth  as  it  is  done  in 
heaven.  It  Is  proof  of  the  supreme  importance  of  this 
attitude  that  this  petition  comes  before  the  request  for 
daily  bread ;  it  comes  even  before  the  appeal  for  for- 
giveness. How  quickly  the  prayer  would  be  answered 
if  all  who  utter  it  would  rise  from  their  knees  and 
make  the  hastening  of  God's  kingdom  the  uppermost 
thought  in  their  minds  throughout  the  day! 

Finally,  belief  in  God  is  necessary  to  belief  In  Im- 
mortality. If  there  Is  no  God  there  Is  no  hereafter. 
When,  therefore,  one  drives  God  out  of  the  universe 
he  closes  the  door  of  hope  upon  himself. 

A  belief  In  Immortality  not  only  consoles  the  indi- 
vidual, but  It  exerts  a  powerful  Influence  In  promoting 
justice  between  Individuals.     If  one  actually  thinks 


32  ''m  THE  BEGIlJmiNG— GOD  '' 

that  man  dies  as  the  brute  dies,  he  will  yield  more 
easily  to  the  temptation  to  do  injustice  to  his  neigh- 
bour when  the  circumstances  are  such  as  to  promise 
security  from  detection.  But  if  one  really  expects  to 
meet  again,  and  live  eternally  with  those  whom  he 
knows  to-day,  he  is  restrained  from  evil  deeds  by  the 
fear  of  endless  remorse  even  when  not  actuated  by 
higher  motives.  We  do  not  know  what  rewards  are 
in  store  for  us  or  what  punishments  may  be  reserved, 
but  if  there  were  no  other  it  would  be  no  light  punish- 
ment for  one  who  deliberately  wrongs  another  to  have 
to  live  forever  in  the  company  of  the  person  wronged 
and  have  his  littleness  and  selfishness  laid  bare. 

The  Creator  has  not  left  us  in  doubt  on  the  subject 
of  immortality.  He  has  given  to  every  created  thing 
a  tongue  that  proclaims  a  life  beyond  the  grave. 

If  the  Father  deigns  to  touch  with  divine  power  the 
cold  and  pulseless  heart  of  the  buried  acorn  and  to 
make  it  burst  forth  from  its  prison  walls,  will  He  leave 
neglected  in  the  earth  the  soul  of  man,  made  in  the 
image  of  his  Creator?  If  He  stoops  to  give  to  the 
rose-bush,  whose  withered  blossoms  float  upon  the 
autumn  breeze,  the  sweet  assurance  of  another  spring- 
time, will  He  refuse  the  words  of  hope  to  the  sons  of 
men  when  the  frosts  of  winter  come?  If  matter,  mute 
and  inanimate,  though  changed  by  the  forces  of  na- 
ture into  a  multitude  of  forms,  can  never  die,  will  the 
imperial  spirit  of  man  suffer  annihilation  when  it  has 
paid  a  brief  visit  like  a  royal  guest  to  this  tenement 
of  clay?  No,  He  who,  notwithstanding  His  apparent 
prodigality,  created  nothing  without  a  purpose,  and 


<*  m  THE  BEGINNING— GOD  ^'  33 

wasted  not  a  single  atom  in  all  His  creation,  has  made 
provision  for  a  future  life  in  which  man's  universal 
longing  for  immortality  will  find  its  realization.  I 
am  as  sure  that  we  shall  live  again  as  I  am  sure  that  we 
live  to-day. 

In  Cairo,  I  secured  a  few  grains  of  wheat  that  had 
slumbered  for  more  than  thirty  centuries  in  an  Egyp- 
tian tomb.  As  I  looked  at  them  this  thought  came 
into  my  mind:  If  one  of  those  grains  had  been  planted 
on  the  banks  of  the  Nile  the  year  after  it  grew,  and 
all  its  lineal  descendants  had  been  planted  and  re- 
planted from  that  time  until  now,  its  progeny  would 
to-day  be  sufficiently  numerous  to  feed  the  teeming 
millions  of  the  world.  An  unbroken  chain  of  life  con- 
nects the  earliest  grains  of  wheat  with  the  grains  that 
we  sow  and  reap.  There  is  in  the  grain  of  wheat  an 
invisible  something  which  has  power  to  discard  the 
body  that  we  see,  and  from  earth  and  air  fashion  a 
new  body  so  much  like  the  old  one  that  we  cannot  tell 
the  one  from  the  other.  If  this  invisible  germ  of  life 
in  the  grain  of  wheat  can  thus  pass  unimpaired 
through  three  thousand  resurrections,  I  shall  not 
doubt  that  my  soul  has  power  to  clothe  itself  with  a 
body  suited  to  its  new  existence,  when  this  earthly 
frame  has  crumbled  into  dust. 


II 

THE  BIBLE 

JESUS  CHRIST  not  only  endorsed  the  Old 
Testament  as  authoritative,  but  bore  witness  to 
its  eternal  truth.  "  Think  not,"  He  said,  "  that 
I  am  come  to  destroy  the  law,  or  the  prophets:  I  am 
not  come  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfill.  For  verily  I  say 
unto  you,  Till  heaven  and  earth  pass,  one  jot  or  one 
tittle  shall  in  no  wise  pass  from  the  law,  till  all  be  ful- 
filled "  (Matt.  5:17,  18). 

When  one's  belief  in  God  becomes  the  controlling 
passion  of  his  fife;  when  he  loves  God  with  all  his 
heart,  with  all  his  soul,  with  all  his  mind  and  with  all 
his  strength  he  is  anxious  to  learn  God's  will  and 
ready  to  accept  the  Bible  as  the  Word  of  God.  All 
that  he  asks  is  sufficient  evidence  of  its  inspiration. 

After  so  many  hundreds  of  millions  have  adopted 
the  Bible  as  their  guide  for  so  many  centuries,  the 
burden  of  proof  would  seem  on  those  who  reject  it. 

The  Bible  is  either  the  word  of  God  or  the  work 
of  man.  Those  who  regard  it  as  a  man-made  book 
should  be  challenged  to  put  their  theory  to  the  test. 
If  man  made  the  Bible,  he  is,  unless  he  has  degener- 
ated, able  to  make  as  good  a  book  to-day. 

Judged  by  human  standards,  man  is  far  better  pre- 
pared to  write  a  Bible  now  than  he  was  when  our  Bible 
was  written.    The  characters  whose  words  and  deeds 

34 


THE  BIBLE  35 

are  recorded  in  the  Bible  were  members  of  a  single 
race;  they  lived  among  the  hills  of  Palestine  in  a  ter- 
ritory scarcely  larger  than  one  of  our  counties.  They 
did  not  have  printing  presses  and  they  lacked  the 
learning  of  the  schools ;  they  had  no  great  libraries  to 
consult,  no  steamships  to  carry  them  around  the  world 
and  make  them  acquainted  with  the  various  centers  of 
ancient  civilization;  they  had  no  telegraph  wires  to 
bring  them  the  news  from  the  ends  of  the  earth  and 
no  newspapers  to  spread  before  them  each  morning 
the  doings  of  the  day  before.  Science  had  not  un- 
locked Nature's  door  and  revealed  the  secrets  of  rocks 
below  and  stars  above.  From  what  a  scantily  sup- 
plied storehouse  of  knowledge  they  had  to  draw,  com- 
pared with  the  unlimited  wealth  of  information  at 
man's  command  to-day!  And  yet  these  Bible  char- 
acters grappled  with  every  problem  that  confronts 
mankind,  from  the  creation  of  the  world  to  eternal 
life  beyond  the  tomb.  They  gave  us  a  diagram  of 
man's  existence  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave  and  set 
up  warning  signs  at  every  dangerous  point. 

The  Bible  gives  us  the  story  of  the  birth,  the  words, 
the  works,  the  crucifixion,  the  resurrection,  and  the 
ascension  of  Him  whose  coming  was  foretold  by 
prophecy,  whose  arrival  was  announced  by  angel 
voices,  singing  Peace  and  Good-will — the  story  of 
Him  who  gave  to  the  world  a  code  of  morality  su- 
perior to  anything  that  the  world  had  known  before 
or  has  known  since. 

Let  the  atheists  and  the  materialists  produce  a  bet- 
ter Bible  than  ours,  if  they  can.    Let  them  collect  the 


36  THE  BIBLE 

best  of  their  school  to  be  found  among  the  graduates 
of  universities — as  many  as  they  please  and  from 
every  land.  Let  the  members  of  this  selected  group 
travel  where  they  will,  consult  such  libraries  as  they 
like,  and  employ  every  modern  means  of  swift  com- 
munication. Let  them  glean  in  the  fields  of  geology, 
botany,  astronomy,  biology,  and  zoology,  and  then 
roam  at  will  wherever  science  has  opened  a  way;  let 
them  take  advantage  of  all  the  progress  in  art  and  in 
literature,  in  oratory  and  in  history — let  them  use  to 
the  full  every  instrumentality  that  is  employed  in 
modern  civiHzation;  and  when  they  have  exhausted 
every  source,  let  them  embody  the  results  of  their  best 
intelligence  in  a  book  and  offer  it  to  the  world  as  a 
substitute  for  this  Bible  of  ours.  Have  they  the  con- 
fidence that  the  prophets  of  Baal  had  in  their  god? 
Will  they  try?  If  not,  what  excuse  will  they  give? 
Has  man  so  fallen  from  his  high  estate,  that  we  can- 
not rightfully  expect  as  much  of  him  now  as  nineteen 
centuries  ago?  Or  does  the  Bible  come  to  us  from  a 
source  that  is  higher  than  man  ? 

But  the  case  is  even  stronger.  The  opponents  of 
the  Bible  cannot  take  refuge  in  the  plea  that  man  is 
retrograding.  They  loudly  proclaim  that  man  has 
grown  and  that  he  is  growing  still.  They  boast  of  a 
world-wide  advance  and  their  claim  is  founded  upon 
fact.  In  all  matters  except  in  the  "  science  of  how 
to  live,"  man  has  made  wonderful  progress.  The 
mastery  of  the  mind  over  the  forces  of  nature  seems 
almost  complete,  so  far  do  we  surpass  the  ancients  iia 
harnessing  the  water,  the  wind  and  the  lightning. 


THE  BIBLE  37 

For  ages,  the  rivers  plunged  down  the  mountain- 
sides and  exhausted  their  energies  without  any  ap- 
preciable contribution  to  man's  service;  now  they  are 
estimated  as  so  many  units  of  horse-power,  and  we 
find  that  their  fretting  and  foaming  was  merely  a 
language  which  they  employed  to  tell  us  of  their 
strength  and  of  their  willingness  to  work  for  us.  And, 
while  falling  water  is  becoming  each  a  day  a  larger 
factor  in  burden-bearing,  water,  rising  in  the  form 
of  steam,  is  revolutionizing  the  transporation  methods 
of  the  world. 

The  wind,  that  first  whispered  its  secret  of  strength 
to  the  flapping  sail,  is  now  turning  the  wheel  at  the 
well,  and  our  flying  machines  have  taken  possession 
of  the  air. 

Lightning,  the  red  demon  that,  from  the  dawn  of 
Creation,  has  been  rushing  down  its  zigzag  path 
through  the  clouds,  as  if  intent  only  upon  spreading 
death,  metamorphosed  into  an  errand-boy,  brings  us 
illumination  from  the  sun  and  carries  our  messages 
around  the  globe. 

Inventive  genius  has  multiplied  the  power  of  a  hu- 
man arm  and  supplied  the  masses  with  comforts  of 
which  the  rich  did  not  dare  to  dream  a  few  centuries 
ago.  Science  is  ferreting  out  the  hidden  causes  of  dis- 
ease and  teaching  us  how  to  prolong  life.  In  every 
line,  except  in  the  line  of  character-building,  the  world 
seems  to  have  been  made  over,  but  these  marvellous 
changes  only  emphasize  the  fact  that  man,  too,  must 
be  born  again,  while  they  show  how  impotent  are 
material  things  to  touch  the  soul  of  man  and  trans- 


38  THE  BIBLE 

form  him  into  a  spiritual  being.  Wherever  the 
moral  standard  is  being  lifted  up — wherever  life  is 
becoming  larger  in  the  vision  that  directs  it  and  richer 
in  its  fruitage,  the  improvement  is  traceable  to  the 
Bible  and  to  the  influence  of  the  God  and  Christ  of 
whom  the  Bible  tells. 

The  atheist  and  the  materialist  must  confess  that 
man  should  be  able  to  produce  a  better  book  to-day 
than  man,  unaided,  could  have  produced  in  any  pre- 
vious age.  The  fact  that  they  have  tried,  time  and 
time  again,  only  to  fail  each  time  more  hopelessly,  ex- 
plains why  they  will  not — why  they  cannot — accept 
the  challenge  thrown  down  by  the  Christian  world  to 
produce  a  book  worthy  to  take  the  Bible's  place. 

They  have  begged  to  their  God  to  answer  with  fire 
— appealed  to  inanimate  matter  with  an  earnestness 
that  is  pathetic ;  they  have  employed  in  the  worship  of 
blind  force  a  faith  greater  than  religion  requires,  but 
their  God  is  asleep.  How  long  will  they  allow  the 
search  for  strata  of  stone  and  fragments  of  fossil  and 
decaying  skeletons  that  are  strewn  around  the  house 
to  absorb  their  thoughts  to  the  exclusion  of  the 
architect  who  planned  it  all?  How  long  will  the  ag- 
nostic, closing  his  eyes  to  the  plainest  truths,  cry, 
"  Night,  night,"  when  the  sun  in  his  meridian  splen- 
dour announces  that  noon  is  here? 

Those  who  reject  the  Bible  ignore  its  claim  to  in- 
spiration. This  in  itself  makes  them  enemies  of  the 
Book  of  books,  because  the  Bible  characters  profess 
to  speak  by  inspiration,  and  what  they  say  bears  the 
stamp  of  the  supernatural.     "  Holy  men  of  God  spake 


THE  BIBLE  39 

as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost "  (3  Peter 
1:21). 

Which  things  also  we  speak,  not  in  the  words  which 
man's  wisdom  teacheth,  but  which  the  Holy  Ghost  teach- 
€th;  comparing  spiritual  things  with  spiritual.  But  the 
natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God: 
for  they  are  foolisnness  unto  him:  neither  can  he  know 
them,  because  they  are  spiritually  discerned  (i  Cor. 
2:13-14). 

Those  who  reject  the  Bible  ignore  the  spirit  that 
pervades  it,  the  atmosphere  that  envelopes  it,  the  har- 
mony of  its  testimonies  and  the  unity  of  its  structure, 
despite  the  fact  that  it  is  the  product  of  many  writ- 
ers during  many  centuries.  Its  parts  were  not  ar- 
ranged by  man,  but  prearranged  by  the  Almighty. 

Those  who  reject  the  Bible  also  ignore  the 
prophecies  and  their  fulfillment — '*  History  written  in 
advance  " — proof  that  appeals  irresistibly  to  the  open 
mind. 

Those  who  reject  the  Bible  even  disparage  the  testi- 
mony which  the  Saviour  bore  to  the  inspiration  of  the 
Old  Testament,  and  yet  what  could  be  more  explicit 
than  His  words  ?  "  And  beginning  at  Moses  and  all 
the  prophets,  he  expounded  unto  them  in  all  the 
Scriptures  the  things  concerning  himself "  (Luke 
24:  27). 

As  Canon  Liddon  says: 

"  For  Christians,  it  will  be  enough  to  know  that  our 
Lord,  Jesus  Christ,  set  the  seal  of  His  infallible  sanction 
on  the  whole  of  the  Old  Testament.  He  found  the 
Hebrew  canon  as  we  have  it  in  our  hands  to-day,  and 


40  THE  BIBLE 

He  treated  it  as  an  authority  which  was  above  discussion. 
Nay,  more;  He  went  out  of  His  way — if  we  may  rever- 
ently speak  thus, — to  sanction  not  a  few  portions  of  it 
which  modern  scepticism  rejects." 

Besides  open  enemies,  the  Bible  has  enemies  who  are 
less  frank — enemies  who,  while  claiming  to  be  friends 
of  Christianity,  spend  their  time  undermining  faith  in 
God,  faith  in  the  Bible,  and  faith  in  Christ.  These 
professed  friends  call  themselves  higher  critics — a 
title  which — though  explained  by  them  as  purely 
technical — smacks  of  an  insufferable  egotism.  They 
assume  an  air  of  superior  intelligence  and  look  down 
with  mingled  pity  and  contempt  upon  what  they  re- 
gard as  poor,  credulous  humanity.  The  higher  critic 
is  more  dangerous  than  the  open  enemy.  The  atheist 
approaches  you  boldly  and  tries  to  blow  out  your  light, 
but,  as  you  know  who  he  is,  what  he  is  trying  to  do  and 
why,  you  can  protect  yourself.  The  higher  critic, 
however,  comes  to  you  in  the  guise  of  a  friend  and 
politely  inquires:  "  Isn't  the  light  too  near  your  eyes? 
I  fear  it  will  injure  your  sight."  Then  he  moves  the 
light  away,  a  little  at  a  time,  until  it  is  only  a  speck 
and  then — invisible. 

Some  who  have  used  the  title  "  higher  critic  "  have 
approached  their  subject  in  a  reverent  spirit  and  la- 
boured earnestly  in  the  vain  hope  of  satisfying  intel- 
lectual doubts,  when  the  real  trouble  has  been  with 
the  hearts  of  objectors  rather  than  with  their  heads. 
Religion  is  a  matter  of  the  heart,  and  the  impulses  of 
the  heart  often  seem  foolish  to  the  mind.  Faith  is 
different  from,  and  superior  to,  reason.     Faith  is  a 


THE  BIBLE  41 

spiritual  extension  of  the  vision — a  moral  sense  that 
reaches  out  toward  the  throne  of  God  and  takes  hold 
of  verities  that  the  mind  cannot  grasp.  It  is  like  "  the 
blind  leading  the  blind  "  for  a  higher  critic,  however 
honest,  to  rely  on  purely  intellectual  methods  to  con- 
vey truths  that  are  "  spiritually  discerned." 

As  a  rule,  however,  the  so-called  higher  critic  is  a 
man  without  spiritual  vision,  without  zeal  for  souls 
and  without  any  deep  interest  in  the  coming  of  God's 
Kingdom.  He  toils  not  in  the  Master's  vineyard  and 
yet  "  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  "  never  laid  claim  to 
such  wisdom  as  he  boasts.  He  does  not  accept  the 
Bible  nor  defend  it ;  he  mutilates  it.  He  puts  the  Bible 
on  the  operating  table  and  cuts  out  the  parts  that  he 
thinks  are  "  diseased."  When  he  has  finished  his 
work  the  Bible  is  no  longer  the  Book  of  books:  it  is 
simply  "  a  scrap  of  paper." 

The  higher  critic  (I  speak  now  of  the  rule  and  not 
of  the  exceptions)  begins  his  investigations  with  his 
opinion  already  formed.  After  he  has  discarded  the 
Bible  because  he  cannot  harmonize  it  with  the  doc- 
trine of  evolution,  he  labours  to  find  evidence  to  sup- 
port his  preconceived  notions.  In  matters  of  religion 
the  higher  critic  is  usually  a  "  dyspeptic."  The  Bible 
does  not  agree  with  him ;  he  has  not  the  spiritual  fluids 
in  suflficient  quantity  to  enable  him  to  digest  the  miracle 
and  the  supernatural.  He  is  a  doubter  and  spreads 
doubts. 

Dr.  Franklin  Johnson,  in  Volume  2,  of  "  Funda- 
mentals "  says  (pages  55,  56,  57):  "A  third  fallacy 


42  THE  BIBLE 

of  the  higher  critics  is  the  doctrine  concerning  the 
Scriptures  which  they  teach.  If  a  consistent  hypothe- 
sis of  evolution  is  made  the  basis  of  our  rehgious 
thinking,  the  Bible  will  be  regarded  as  only  a  product 
of  human  nature  working  in  the  field  of  religious  lit- 
erature.   It  will  be  merely  a  natural  book."     .     .     . 

Again:  "Yet  another  fallacy  of  the  higher  critics 
is   found  in  their  teachings  concerning  the  Biblical 
miracles.     If  the  hypothesis  of  evolution  is  applied  to 
the  Scriptures  consistently,  it  will  lead  us  to  deny  all 
the  miracles  which  they  record."    ... 

And:  "Among  the  higher  critics  who  accept  some 
of  the  miracles  there  is  a  notable  desire  to  discredit  the 
virgin  birth  of  our  Lord,  and  their  treatment  of  this 
event  presents  a  good  example  of  the  fallacies  of  rea- 
soning by  means  of  which  they  would  abolish  many 
of  the  other  miracles." 

Professor  Reeve,  in  a  strong  article  in  Volume  3 
of  "Fundamentals"  (pages  98,  99)  tells  us  of  his 
own  excursion  into  the  fields  of  higher  criticism,  of 
his  disappointment  and  of  his  glad  return  to  the  in- 
terpretations of  the  Bible  that  are  generally  accepted. 
Speaking  of  his  first  impressions,  he  says: 

"  The  critics  seemed  to  have  the  logical  things  on  their 
side.  The  results  at  which  they  had  arrived  seemed  in- 
evitable. But  upon  closer  thinking,  I  saw  that  the  whole 
movement,  with  its  conclusion,  was  the  result  of  the 
adoption  of  the  hypothesis  of  evolution."     .     .     . 

"  It  became  more  and  more  obvious  to  me  that  the 
great  movement  was  entirely  intellectual,  an  attempt  in 
reality  to  intellectualize  all  religious  phenomena.  I  saw 
also  that  it  was  a  partial  and  one-sided  intellectualism, 
with  a  strong  bias  against  the  fundamental  tenets  of 


THE  BIBLE  43 

Biblical  Christianity.  Such  a  movement  does  not  pro- 
duce that  intellectual  humility  which  belongs  to  the 
Christian  mind.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  responsible  for 
a  vast  amount  of  intellectual  pride,  an  aristocracy  of 
intellect  with  all  the  snobbery  which  usually  accompanies 
that  term.  Do  they  not  exactly  correspond  to  Paul's 
word,  *  vainly  puffed  up  in  his  fleshly  mind  and  not 
holding  fast  the  head,  etc'  They  have  a  splendid  scorn 
for  all  opinions  which  do  not  agree  with  theirs.  Under 
the  spell  of  this  sublime  contempt  they  think  they  can 
ignore  anything  that  does  not  square  with  their  evolu- 
tionary hypothesis.  The  center  of  gravity  of  their  think- 
ing is  in  the  theoretical,  not  in  the  religious ;  in  reason,  not 
in  faith.  Supremely  satisfied  with  its  self-constituted 
authority,  the  mind  thinks  itself  competent  to  criticize 
the  Bible,  the  thinking  of  all  the  centuries,  and  even 
Jesus  Christ  Himself.  The  followers  of  this  cult  have 
their  full  share  of  the  frailties  of  human  nature.  Rarely, 
if  ever,  can  a  thoroughgoing  critic  be  an  evangelist  or 
even  evangelistic;  he  is  educational.  How  is  it  possible 
for  a  preacher  to  be  a  power  of  God,  whose  source  of 
authority  is  his  own  reason  and  convictions?  The  Bible 
can  scarcely  contain  more  than  good  advice  for  such 
a  man." 

In  Volume  2  of  "Fundamentals"  (page  84),  Sir 
Robert  Anderson  has  this  to  say: 

"  The  effect  of  this  *  Higher  Criticism '  is  extremely 
grave.  For  it  has  dethroned  the  Bible  in  the  home,  and 
the  good  old  practice  of  '  family  worship '  is  rapidly  dy- 
ing out.  And  great  national  interests  also  are  involved. 
For  who  can  doubt  that  the  prosperity  and  power  of  the 
nations  of  the  world  are  due  to  the  influence  of  the 
Bible  upon  the  character  and  conduct?  Races  of  men 
who  for  generations  have  been  taught  to  think  for  them- 
selves in  matters  of  the  highest  moment  will  naturally 
excel  in  every  sphere  of  effort  or  of  enterprise.  And 
more  than  this,  no  one  who  is  trained  in  the  fear  of  God 
will  fail  in  his  duty  to  his  neighbour,  but  will  prove  him- 


44  THE  BIBLE 

self  a  good  citizen.  But  the  dethronement  of  the  Bible 
leads  practically  to  the  dethronement  of  God ;  and  in  Ger- 
many and  America,  and  now  in  England,  the  effects  of 
this  are  declaring  themselves  in  ways,  and  to  an  extent, 
well  fitted  to  cause  anxiety  for  the  future." 

The  experience  of  Rev.  Paul  Kanamori,  known  as 
the  "  Japanese  Billy  Sunday  "  furnishes  an  excellent 
illustration  of  the  chilling  effect  of  higher  criticism. 
He  was  converted  when  a  student  and,  after  a  period 
of  preaching,  became  a  professor  in  a  theological 
seminary  in  Japan.  Dr.  Robert  E.  Speer,  in  a  preface 
to  a  published  sermon  of  Mr.  Kanamori,  thus  describes 
the  great  evangelist's  temporary  retirement  from  the 
ministry  and  its  cause: 

"  He  began  to  read  upon  the  most  recent  German 
theology,  with  the  result  that  he  was  completely  swept 
off  his  feet  by  the  rationalistic  New  Theology,  Higher 
Criticism,  etc.  Not  long  after  that  he  published  his  new 
views  under  the  title,  *  The  present  and  future  of  Chris- 
tianity in  Japan,'  and  retired  from  the  ministry.  .  .  . 
He  remained  in  this  state  of  spiritual  darkness  for 
twenty  years,  until  the  death  of  his  wife  brought  him  and 
his  children  into  great  trouble,  but  after  passing  through 
these  deep  waters  he  came  out  again  with  a  clear  and 
firm  belief  in  the  old-fashioned  gospel"  ("The  Three- 
Hour  Sermon,"  page  8). 

Since  Mr.  Kanamori's  return  to  the  ministry  he  has 
been  the  means  of  leading  nearly  fifty  thousand  Japa- 
nese to  Christ — ^probably  more  than  the  total  number 
of  souls  brought  into  the  Church  by  all  the  higher 
critics  combined. 

Rev.  T.  De  Witt  Talmage,  one  of  the  great  preach- 


THE  BIBLE  45 

ers  of  the  last  generation,  thus  speaks  of  the  higher 
critics: 

"  When  I  see  ministers  of  religion  finding  fault  with 
the  Scriptures,  it  makes  m.e  think  of  a  fortress  terrifically 
bombarded,  and  the  men  on  the  ramparts,  instead  of 
swabbing  out  and  loading  the  guns  and  helping  to  fetch 
up  the  ammunition  from  the  magazine,  are  trying  with 
crowbars  to  pry  out  from  the  wall  certain  blocks  of 
stone,  because  they  did  not  come  from  the  right  quarry. 
Oh,  men  on  the  ramparts,  better  fight  back  and  fight  down 
the  common  enemy,  instead  of  trying  to  make  breaches 
in  the  wall." 

It  is  a  deserved  rebuke.  The  higher  critics  throw 
ink  at  a  Book  that  has  withstood  the  assaults  of 
materialists  for  centuries,  and  are  vain  enough  to  think 
that  they  can  blot  out  its  vital  truths.  Although  their 
labours  against  the  Bible  have  consumed  years,  they 
expect  the  public  to  accept  their  conclusions  at  sight. 
If  they  require  so  much  time  to  formulate  their  in- 
dictment against  Holy  Writ,  surely  the  friends  of  the 
Bible  should  be  allowed  as  much  time  for  the  inspec- 
tion of  the  indictment. 

The  destructive  higher  critic  is,  as  a  rule,  opposed 
to  revivals ;  in  fact,  it  is  one  of  the  tests  by  which  he 
can  be  distinguished  from  other  preachers.  He  calls 
the  revival  a  "  religious  spasm."  He  understands  how 
one  can  have  a  spasm  of  anger  and  become  a  murderer, 
or  a  spasm  of  passion  and  ruin  a  life,  or  a  spasm  of 
dishonesty  and  rob  a  bank,  but  he  cannot  understand 
how  one  can  be  convicted  of  sin,  and,  in  a  spasm  of 
repentance,  be  born  again.  That  would  be  a  miracle, 
and   miracles  are  inconsistent  with   evolution.     It 


46  THE  BIBLE 

shocks  the  higher  critic  to  have  the  prodigal  son  come 
back  so  suddenly  after  going  away  so  deliberately. 

Most  of  the  higher  critics  discard,  because  contrary 
to  the  doctrine  of  evolution,  the  virgin  birth  of  Jesus 
and  His  resurrection,  although  the  former  is  no  more 
mysterious  than  our  own  birth — only  different,  and 
the  latter  no  more  mysterious  than  the  origin  of  life. 
The  existence  of  God  makes  both  possible;  and  the 
proof  is  sufficient  to  establish  both. 

If  the  higher  critic  will  but  come  into  the  presence 
of  Christ  and  learn  of  Him  he  will  express  himself  in 
the  language  of  the  father  (whose  son  had  a  dumb 
spirit),  who,  as  recorded  in  Mark  (9:  24),  "  cried  out 
and  said  with  tears,  Lord,  I  believe;  help  thou  mine 
unbelief." 

If  he  would  only  mingle  with  humanity  he  might 
catch  the  spirit  of  the  Master;  if  his  sympathies  were 
broad  enough  to  take  in  all  of  God's  people,  he  would 
be  so  impressed  with  the  religious  needs  of  sinful  man 
that  he  would  hasten  to  break  to  him  the  "  Bread  of 
Life  "  instead  of  offering  him  a  stone.  The  Bible,  as 
it  is,  has  led  millions  to  repentance  and,  through  for- 
giveness, into  life ;  the  Bible,  as  the  higher  critics  would 
make  it,  is  impotent  to  save. 

Enemies  of  the  Bible  have  been  "blasting  at  the 
Rock  of  Ages  "  for  nearly  two  thousand  years  but  in 
spite  of  attacks  of  open  and  secret  foes,  God  still  lives, 
and  His  Book  is  still  precious  to  His  children. 

The  Bible  would  be  the  greatest  book  ever  written 
if  it  rested  on  its  literary  merits  alone,  stripped  of  the 
reverence  that  inspiration  commands;  but  it  becomes 


THE  BIBLE  47 

infinitely  more  valuable  when  it  is  accepted  as  the 
Word  of  God.  As  a  man-made  book  it  would  compel 
the  intellectual  admiration  of  the  world ;  as  the  audible 
voice  of  the  Heavenly  Father  it  makes  an  irresistible 
appeal  to  the  heart  and  writes  its  truths  upon  our  lives. 
Its  heroes  teach  us  great  lessons — they  were  giants 
when  they  walked  by  faith,  but  weak  as  we  ourselves 
when  they  relied  upon  their  own  strength. 

The  Bible  starts  with  a  simple  story  of  creation — 
just  a  few  words,  but  it  says  all  that  can  be  said.  The 
scientists  have  framed  hypotheses,  the  philosophers 
have  formulated  theories  and  the  speculators  have 
guessed — some  of  them  have  darkened  *'  counsel  by 
words  without  knowledge  " — but  when  the  smoke  of 
controversy  rises  we  find  that  the  first  sentence  of 
Genesis,  still  unshaken,  comprehends  the  entire  sub- 
ject: "  In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heavens  and 
the  earth."  No  one  has  been  able  to  overthrow  it,  or 
burrow  under  it  or  go  around  it. 

And  so  when  we  set  out  in  search  of  a  foundation 
for  statute  law;  we  dig  down  through  the  loose  dirt, 
the  mould  of  centuries,  until  we  strike  solid  rock  and 
we  find  the  Tables  of  Stone  on  which  were  written 
the  ten  commandments.  All  important  legislation  is 
but  an  elaboration  of  these  few,  brief  sentences,  and 
the  elaborations  are  often  obscuring  instead  of  clarify- 
ing. 

If  we  desire  rules  to  govern  our  spiritual  develop- 
ment we  turn  back  to  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  In 
our  educational  system  it  takes  many  books  on  many 
subjects  to  prepare  a  mind  for  its  work,  but  three 


48  THE  BIBLE 

chapters  of  the  Bible  (Matthew  5,  6  and  7)  applied  to 
life,  would  have  more  influence  than  all  the  learning 
of  the  schools  in  determining  the  happiness  of  the 
individual  and  his  service  to  society. 

If  we  want  to  understand  the  evils  of  arbitrary 
power,  we  have  only  to  read  Samuel's  warning  to  the 
children  of  Israel  when  they  clamoured  for  a  king 
(iSam.  8:  11,  17). 

If  we  would  form  an  estimate  of  the  influence  that 
faith  can  exert  on  a  human  life,  and,  through  it,  upon 
a  world,  we  follow  the  career  of  Abraham,  ''  the  friend 
of  God,"  and  see  how  his  trust  in  Jehovah  was  re- 
warded. He  founded  a  race,  than  which  there  has 
never  been  a  greater,  and  established  the  religion 
through  which  to-day  hundreds  of  millions  worship 
God. 

David  showed  us  how  a  shepherd  lad  could  become 
the  "  warrior  king  "  and  the  "  sweet  singer  of  Israel," 
with  virtues  so  big  that,  in  spite  of  his  enormous  sins, 
he  is  described  as  "  a  man  after  God's  own  heart." 

And  what  varied  instruction  we  draw  from  the  life 
of  Moses!  Hidden  in  the  bulrushes  on  the  banks  of 
the  Nile  by  a  mother  who,  by  instinct  or  by  divine 
suggestion,  previsioned  a  high  calling  for  her  son; 
found,  under  Providential  direction,  by  a  daughter  of 
Pharaoh;  reared  in  the  environment  of  a  palace  and 
with  the  advantages  of  the  most  enlightened  court  of 
his  day;  compelled  to  flee  into  the  wilderness  because 
of  an  outburst  of  race  passion ;  called  to  a  great  work 
by  a  Voice  that  spoke  to  him  from  a  bush  that  "  burned 
but  was  not  consumed " ;  modestly  distrusting  his 


THE  BIBLE  49 

ability  yet  dauntless  as  the  spokesman  of  God — dis- 
penser of  plagues — wonder-working  man!  Born  of  an 
obscure  family  and  buried  in  the  Land  of  Moab  in  a 
sepulcher  which  ''  no  man  knoweth,"  and  yet  between 
these  two  humble  events  he  rose  to  a  higher  pinnacle 
than  any  uninspired  man  has  ever  reached — leader 
without  comparison — lawgiver  without  a  peer. 

He  teaches  many  lessons  that,  like  all  truths,  can 
be  applied  in  every  generation  in  every  land.  Race 
sympathy  made  it  possible  for  him  to  lead  his  people 
out  of  bondage — no  one  not  of  their  own  blood  could 
have  done  it.  This  lesson  needs  to  be  heeded  to-day. 
Our  part  in  the  evangelization  of  the  world  will  be 
done  through  native  teachers,  educated  here  or  in  our 
missions,  rather  than  directly.  The  reformer,  too,- 
finds  in  the  hardening  of  Pharaoh's  heart  the  final 
assurance  of  success ;  when  the  "  fullness  of  time  " 
has  come  and  any  form  of  bondage  is  ripe  for  over- 
throw, the  taskmaster's  demand  for  *'  bricks  without 
straw  "  gives  the  final  Impulse  and  opens  the  way. 

Joseph  has  made  the  world  his  schoolroom.  He 
enables  us  to  understand  the  words  of  Solomon; 
"  where  there  is  no  vision  the  people  perish."  He 
shows  how,  in  the  hour  of  trial,  faith  can  triumph 
over  reason — how  God  can  lead  a  righteous  man 
through  a  dungeon  to  a  seat  by  the  side  of  the  throne 
— ^how  the  dreamer  can  turn  scoffing  into  reverence 
when  he  has  the  corn. 

Samuel  is  a  standing  rebuke  to  those  who  think 
"  wild  oats  "  a  necessary  crop  in  the  lives  of  young 
men.    He  heard  the  call  of  God  when  he  was  a  child ; 


50  THE  BIBLE 

was  reared  for  the  Father's  work  and  lived  a  life  so 
blameless  that  the  people  proclaimed  him  just  when 
his  official  career  came  to  an  end. 

In  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon  we  find  a  rare  collec- 
tion of  truths,  beautifully  expressed;  in  Job  we  find 
an  inexhaustible  patience  set  to  music  and  an  integrity 
that  even  Satan  himself  could  not  corrupt. 

The  Prophets  alone  would  immortalize  the  Bible — 
rugged  characters  who  dared  to  rebuke  wickedness  in 
high  places,  to  reproach  a  nation  for  its  sins  and  to 
warn  of  the  coming  of  the  wrath  of  God.  See  Elijah 
on  Mount  Carmel,  mocking  the  worshippers  of  Baal; 
hear  him  thunder  the  Almighty's  sentence  against  a 
king  who,  coveting  Naboth's  vineyard,  broke  three 
commandments  to  get  a  little  piece  of  land.  And  yet 
Elijah  fled  from  wicked  Jezebel  and  would  have  de- 
spaired but  for  the  Voice  that  assured  him  of  the 
thousands  who  were  still  true  to  Israel's  God — the 
obscure  hosts  who  remained  loyal  even  when  the  con- 
spicuous became  faint-hearted. 

Elisha  was  a  visible  link  in  the  chain  of  power. 
He  was  not  ashamed  to  wear  the  mantle  of  his  great 
predecessor;  he  was  willing  to  take  up  an  unfinished 
work.  He  bears  unimpeachable  testimony  to  the  con- 
tinuity of  the  divine  current  when  human  conductors 
can  be  found  to  transmit  it.  It  was  Elisha  who  drew 
aside  the  veil  that  concealed  from  his  affrighted  serv- 
ant the  horses  and  chariots  that,  upon  the  mountain, 
await  the  hours  when  they  are  needed  to  supplement 
the  strength  of  those  who  fight  upon  the  Lord's  side; 
it  was  Elisha,  too,  who  proved  to  the  warriors  of  his 


THE  BIBLE  61 

day  that  magnanimity  is  more  potent  than  violence. 
He  conquered  by  self-restraint — and  '*  the  bands  of 
Syria  came  no  more  into  the  lands  of  Israel." 

Daniel  is  another  man  in  whom  faith  begat  courage 
and  for  whom  courage  carved  a  large  niche  in  the 
temple  of  imperishable  fame.  The  Daniel  who  inter- 
preted to  the  trembling  Belshazzar  the  fateful  hand- 
writing on  the  wall;  who,  unawed  by  enemies,  prayed 
with  his  windows  open  toward  Jerusalem,  and  who,  in 
the  lions'  den,  waited  in  patience  until  Darius 
hastened  from  a  sleepless  couch  to  call  him  forth  and 
join  him  in  praising  Israel's  God — this  Daniel  was  the 
same  intrepid  servant  of  the  Most  High,  who  in  his 
youth  refused  to  drink  wine  from  the  king's  table, 
and,  demanding  a  test,  proved  that  water  was  better 
— a  verdict  that  twenty-five  centuries  have  not  dis- 
turbed. 

Passing  over  many  characters  who  would  seem 
mountainlike  but  for  the  majestic  peaks  that  over- 
shadow them,  let  us  turn  to  the  immortal  seer  who, 
listening  heavenward,  caught  the  words  of  the  song 
that  startled  the  shepherds  at  Bethelehem  and,  peering 
through  the  darkness  of  seven  centuries,  saw  the  light 
that  shone  from  Calvary.  It  was  Isaiah  who  foretold 
more  clearly  and  more  fully  than  any  one  else  the 
coming  of  the  Messiah,  suggested  the  titles  which  He 
would  earn,  described  the  sufiferings  which  He  would 
endure  and  enumerated  the  blessings  He  would  bring 
to  mankind.  In  chapter  nine  verse  six  we  read,  "  For 
unto  us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us  a  son  is  given:  and 
the  government  shall  be  upon  his  shoulder:  and  his 


62  THE  BIBLE 

name  shall  be  called  Wonderful,  Counsellor,  The 
Mighty  God,  The  Everlasting  Father,  The  Prince  of 
Peace." 

In  chapter  fifty-three,  we  learn  of  His  vicarious 
atonement : 

He  is  despised  and  rejected  of  men;  a  man  of  sor- 
rows, and  acquainted  with  grief:  and  we  hid  as  it  were 
our  faces  from  him;  he  was  despised,  and  we  esteemed 
him  not.  Surely  he  hath  borne  our  griefs,  and  carried 
our  sorrows;  yet  we  did  esteem  him  stricken,  smitten 
of  God,  and  afflicted.  But  he  was  wounded  for  our 
transgressions,  he  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities:  the 
chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon  him;  and  with  his 
stripes  we  are  healed.  All  we  like  sheep  have  gone 
astray;  we  have  turned  every  one  to  his  own  way;  and 
the  Lord  hath  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all.  He 
was  oppressed,  and  he  was  afflicted,  yet  he  opened  not 
his  mouth:  he  is  brought  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter, 
and  as  a  sheep  before  her  shearers  is  dumb,  so  he 
opened  not  his  mouth.  He  was  taken  from  prison  and 
from  judgment:  and  who  shall  declare  his  generation? 
for  he  was  cut  off  out  of  the  land  of  the  living:  for 
the  transgression  of  my  people  was  he  stricken.  And 
he  made  his  grave  with  the  wicked,  and  with  the  rich 
in  his  death;  because  he  had  done  no  violence,  neither 
was  any  deceit  in  his  mouth. 

In  chapter  two,  verse  four,  we  are  told  of  the  glad 
day,  which  we  are  now  trying  to  hasten,  when  swords 
shall  be  beaten  into  ploughshares,  and  spears  into 
pruning-hooks — when  nations  shall  not  lift  up  the 
sword  against  nations  or  learn  war  any  more. 

If  the  Old  Testament  is  so  fascinating  what  may 
we  expect  of  the  New?  It  is  day  as  compared  with 
dawn;  it  is  the  morning  light,  with  which  Moses  and 


THE  BIBLE  53 

the  Prophets  beat  back  the  darkness  of  the  night,  en- 
larged— until  we  have  the  sun  in  its  meridian  glory. 
"  Old  things  have  passed  away ;  behold,  all  things  are 
become  new." 

The  Old  Testament  gave  us  the  law ;  the  New  Tes- 
tament reveals  the  love  upon  which  the  law  rests. 
John  says:  **  The  law  was  given  by  Moses,  but  grace 
and  truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ"  (John  1:  17).  The 
Old  Testament  restrained  by  a  multitude  of  ''  Thou 
shalt  nots  " ;  the  New  Testament  awakens  the  monitor 
within  and  supplies  a  spiritual  urge  that  makes  the  in- 
dividual find  satisfaction  in  service  and  delight  in 
doing  good.  David  soothes  the  dying  with  sweet  as- 
surance: "Though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death,  I  will  fear  no  evil,  for  thou  art  with 
me,  thy  rod  and  thy  staff,  they  comfort  me;"  Jesus 
inspires  them  with  a  living  hope:  ''  I  go  to  prepare  a 
place  for  you  that  where  I  am  ye  may  be  also." 

God  IS  the  center  of  gravity  in  the  New  Testament 
as  In  the  Old,  but  the  drawing  power  of  Jehovah  be- 
came visible  in  Christ;  the  attributes  of  the  Father 
were  revealed  in  the  Son — the  supreme  Intelligence,  the 
limitless  power,  the  boundless  love.  Divinity  sur- 
rounded itself  with  human  associates  but  spiritual  en- 
thusiasm crowded  out  the  selfish  element ;  His  presence 
purged  their  souls  of  dross.  The  characters  of  the 
New  Testament  are  about  their  Father's  business  all 
the  time.  If  a  Judas  is  base  enough  to  betray  the  Sa- 
viour, even  he  Is  so  overwhelmed  with  remorse  that 
life  becomes  unbearable. 

We  are  Introduced  to  a  new  group  of  characters, 


54  THE  BIBLE 

beginning  with  a  Virgin  with  a  child  and  ending  with 
her  Son  upon  the  cross — a  galaxy  of  men  and  women 
whose  words  and  deeds  have  travelled  into  every  land. 
One  poor  widow  with  two  mites,  wisely  invested,  pur- 
chased more  enduring  fame  than  any  rich  man  was 
ever  able  to  buy  with  all  his  money.  Another,  Ta- 
bitha,  by  interpretation  called  Dorcas,  drew  forth  as 
eloquent  a  tribute  as  was  ever  paid.  In  the  goodness 
of  her  heart  she  made  garments  for  the  poor,  and  the 
recipients,  exhibiting  them  at  her  death-bed,  expressed 
their  gratitude  in  tears.  The  narrative  suggests  an 
epitaph  which  every  Christian  can  earn — and  who 
could  desire  more?  viz.,  the  night  is  darker  because  a 
life  has  gone  out;  the  world  is  not  so  warm  because  a 
heart  is  cold  in  death. 

In  John  the  Baptist,  we  have  the  forerunner — "  the 
voice  crying  in  the  wilderness."  The  Apostles,  chosen 
from  among  the  busy  multitude,  carried  their  habits  of 
industry  into  their  new  calling;  some  turned  from 
catching  fish  to  become  "  fishers  of  men,"  while  Mat- 
thew employed  the  accuracy  of  a  collector  of  customs 
in  chronicling  the  life  of  the  Master.  Even  the  weak- 
nesses of  men  were  utilized:  Thomas  consecrated  his 
doubts,  and  John,  the  disciple,  baptized  his  ambition — 
each  giving  the  Great  Teacher  an  opportunity  to  use  a 
fault  for  the  enlightening  of  future  generations.  The 
latter  became  the  most  intimate  companion  of  the  Sa- 
viour— "  the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved  "  and  the  one 
who  most  frequently  used  the  word  love. 

Peter  and  Paul  stand  out  conspicuously  among  the 
exponents  of  early  Christianity.     In  the  case  of  Peter, 


THE  BIBLE  55 

Christ  brought  an  impulsive  nature  into  complete  sub- 
jection and  gave  a  steadying  purpose  to  an  emotional 
follower.  In  Paul,  we  see  a  giant  intellect  aflame  with 
a  holy  zeal.  Both  were  bold  interpreters  of  Christ's 
mission  and  both  urged  upon  Christians  the  full  gospel 
equipment. 

In  his  second  Epistle,  chapter  one,  Peter  exhorts: 

And  besides  this,  giving  all  diligence,  add  to  your  faith 
virtue;  and  to  virtue  knowledge;  and  to  knowledge 
temperance ;  and  to  temperance  patience ;  and  to  patience 
godliness;  and  to  godliness  brotherly  kindness;  and  to 
brotherly  kindness  charity.  For  if  these  things  be  in 
you,  and  abound,  they  make  you  that  you  shall  neither 
be  barren  nor  unfruitful  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

In  the  sixth  chapter  of  Ephesians,  Paul  pleads: 

Wherefore  take  unto  you  the  whole  armour  of  God, 
that  ye  may  be  able  to  withstand  in  the  evil  day,  and 
having  done  all,  to  stand.  Stand  therefore,  having  your 
loins  girt  about  with  truth,  and  having  on  the  breastplate 
of  righteousness ;  and  your  feet  shod  with  the  preparation 
of  the  gospel  of  peace;  above  all,  taking  the  shield  of 
faith,  wherewith  ye  shall  be  able  to  quench  all  the  fiery 
darts  of  the  wicked.  And  take  the  helmet  of  salvation, 
and  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  Word  of  God: 
Praying  always  with  all  prayer  and  supplication  in  the 
Spirit,  and  watching  thereunto  with  all  perseverance  and 
supplication  for  all  saints. 

Peter  was  a  rock,  hewn  into  shape  and  polished  by 
the  divine  hand ;  Paul  was  a  "  chosen  vessel "  to  bear 
the  Redeemer's  Name  before  "  the  Gentiles  and  kings 
and  the  children  of  Israel."     Paul  was  an  orator  with  a 


66  THE  BIBLE 

purpose;  he  was  a  man  with  a  message.  He  was  elo- 
quent because  he  knew  what  he  was  talking  about  and 
meant  what  he  said.  No  wonder,  for  he  was  called  to 
service  by  a  summons  so  distinct  and  unmistakable  that 
he  turned  at  once  from  persecuting  to  preaching.  Paul 
is  responsible  for  one  of  the  most  inspiring  sentences  in 
the  Bible — "  I  was  not  disobedient  unto  the  heavenly 
vision."     It  was  the  key  to  his  whole  life. 

Love  is  not  blind,  declares  Tolstoy;  it  sees  what 
ought  to  be  done  and  does  it.  So  with  Paul.  His 
eyes  were  open  to  the  truth  and  he  saw  it ;  he  was  sensi- 
tive to  the  needs  of  the  Church  and  his  epistles  are 
filled  with  wise  counsel.  He  encouraged  the  worthy, 
admonished  the  erring  and  strengthened  the  weak. 
Paul  knew  well  the  secret  of  liberality,  as  shown  in 
2  Corinthians  8:  5.  The  members  of  the  Macedonian 
church  "  first  gave  their  own  selves  " ;  giving  was  easy 
after  that.  Paul's  religion  could  not  be  shaken;  read 
his  vow  as  recorded  in  the  eighth  chapter  of  Romans: 

For  I  am  persuaded  that  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor 
angels,  nor  principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  present, 
nor  things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other 
creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of 
God,  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 

His  sufferings  developed  patience  and  deepened  de- 
votion. They  prepared  him  to  appreciate  love  and  to 
define  it  as  no  other  mortal  has  done. 

His  tribute  to  love,  contained  in  the  thirteenth  chap- 
ter of  1  Corinthians,  is  not  approached  by  any  other 
utterance  on  this  subject.  (I  use  the  old  version  with 
the  word  charity  changed  to  love.) 


THE  BIBLE  57 

Though  I  speak  with  the  tongues  of  men  and  of  angels, 
and  have  not  love,  I  am  become  as  sounding  brass  or  a 
tinkling  cymbal.  And  though  I  have  the  gift  of  proph- 
ecy, and  understand  all  mysteries,  and  all  knowledge; 
and  though  I  have  all  faith,  so  that  I  could  remove 
mountains,  and  have  not  love,  I  am  nothing.  And  though 
I  bestow  all  my  goods  to  feed  the  poor,  and  though  I 
give  my  body  to  be  burned,  and  have  not  love,  it  profiteth 
me  nothing.  Love  suifereth  long,  and  is  kind;  love 
envieth  not;  love  vaunteth  not  itself,  is  not  puffed  up. 
Doth  not  behave  itself  unseemly,  seeketh  not  her  own,  is 
not  easily  provoked,  thinketh  no  evil;  Rejoiceth  not  in 
iniquity,  but  rejoiceth  in  the  truth;  Beareth  all  things, 
believeth  all  things,  hopeth  all  things,  endureth  all  things ; 
Love  never  f aileth :  but  whether  there  be  prophecies  they 
shall  fail;  whether  there  be  tongues  they  shall  cease; 
whether  there  be  knowledge  it  shall  vanish  away.  For 
we  know  in  part,  and  we  prophesy  in  part.  But  when 
that  which  is  perfect  is  come,  then  that  which  is  in  part 
shall  be  done  away.  When  I  was  a  child,  I  spake  as  a 
child,  I  understood  as  a  child,  I  thought  as  a  child:  but 
when  I  became  a  man,  I  put  away  childish  things;  For 
now  we  see  through  a  glass,  darkly ;  but  then  face  to  face ; 
now  I  know  in  part;  but  then  shall  I  know  even  as  also 
I  am  known.  And  now  abideth  faith,  hope,  love,  these 
three ;  but  the  greatest  of  these  is  love. 

I  cannot  leave  the  Book  of  Books  without  referring 
to  one  of  the  supreme  moments  that  it  describes.  The 
Bible  Is  full  of  pictures;  the  painter  has  found  it  an 
inexhaustible  storehouse  of  suggestion.  All  the  great 
climaxes  of  sacred  history  speak  to  us  from  the  canvas. 
Moses  and  Pharaoh,  Ruth  and  Naomi,  Daniel  at  the 
Belshazzar  Feast  and  In  the  Lions'  Den,  Elijah  at  Mt. 
Carmel  and  before  Ahab,  Joseph  and  his  brethren, 
David  and  Goliath,  Mary  and  the  Child,  Jesus,  the 
Prodigal  Son,  the  Sower,  the  Good  Samaritan,  the 


58  THE  BIBLE 

Rich  Young  Man,  the  Wise  and  the  Foolish  Virgins, 
Jesus  in  the  Temple,  Christ  Entering  Jerusalem,  and 
in  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane,  and  The  Saviour  on  the 
Cross — these  are  but  a  few  of  the  word  pictures  that 
have  inspired  the  artist's  brush. 

But  there  is  another  picture,  unsurpassed  in  thrilling 
power  and  permanent  interest,  namely,  that  presented 
by  the  trial  of  Christ — ^tragedy  of  tragedies,  triumph 
of  triumphs! 

Here,  face  to  face,  stood  Pilate  and  Christ,  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  two  opposing  forces  that  have  ever 
contended  for  dominion  in  the  world.  Pilate  was  the 
personification  of  force;  behind  him  was  the  Roman 
government,  undisputed  ruler  of  the  then  known 
world,  supported  by  its  invincible  legions.  Before  Pi- 
late stood  Christ,  the  embodiment  of  love — unarmed, 
alone.  And  force  triumphed ;  they  nailed  Him  to  the 
cross,  and  the  mob  that  had  assembled  to  witness  His 
sufferings,  mocked  and  jeered  and  said:  ''  He  is  dead." 
But  from  that  day  the  power  of  Caesar  waned  and  the 
power  of  Christ  increased.  In  a  few  centuries  the 
Roman  government  was  gone  and  its  legions  for- 
gotten, while  the  Apostle  of  Love  has  become  the 
greatest  fact  in  history  and  the  growing  figure  of  all 
time. 

Who  will  estimate  the  Bible's  value  to  society?  It 
is  our  only  guide.  It  contains  milk  for  the  young  and 
nourishing  food  for  every  year  of  life's  journey ;  it  is 
manna  for  those  who  travel  in  the  wilderness ;  and  it 
provides  a  staff  for  those  who  are  weary  with  age.  It 
satisfies  the  heart's  longings  for  a  knowledge  of  God ; 


THE  BIBLE  69 

it  gives  a  meaning  to  existence  and  supplies  a  working 
plan  to  each  human  being. 

It  holds  up  before  us  ideals  that  are  within  sight  of 
the  weakest  and  the  lowliest,  and  yet  so  high  that  the 
best  and  the  noblest  are  kept  with  their  faces  turned 
ever  upward.  It  carries  the  call  of  the  Saviour  to  the 
remotest  corners  of  the  earth ;  on  its  pages  are  written 
the  assurances  of  the  present  and  our  hopes  for  the 
future. 


Ill 

WHAT  THINK  YE  OF  CHRIST? 

THE  question,  What  think  ye  of  Christ? 
propounded  to  the  Pharisees  by  the  Saviour 
Himself,  demands  an  answer  from  an  in- 
creasing number  as  each  year  the  circle  of  the  Gospel's 
influence  widens.  It  is  a  question  that  cannot  be 
evaded.  In  every  civilized  land  an  answer  is  made, 
by  word  or  act,  by  each  individual  who  is  confronted 
by  the  facts  of  His  life.  It  is  in  the  hope  that  I  may 
be  able  to  assist  some  in  answering  this  question  that  I 
devote  this  hour  to  the  inquiry. 

Was  Christ  an  impostor  ?  Or  was  He  deluded  ?  Or 
was  He  the  promised  Messiah,  "  the  Way,  the  Truth, 
and  the  Life,"  as  He  declared  Himself  to  be? 

Few  have  dared  to  accuse  Him  of  attempting  a  de- 
liberate fraud  upon  the  public.  Impostors  sometimes 
kill  others  in  carrying  out  their  plans,  or  to  escape  de- 
tection, but  they  do  not  offer  themselves  as  a  sacrifice 
for  others.  Christ's  whole  life  gives  the  lie  to  the 
charge  that  He  practiced  deception.  One  recorded  act 
would  be  sufficient  to  establish  His  honesty  of  purpose. 
In  the  nineteenth  chapter  of  Matthew  we  read: 

And,  behold,  one  came  and  said  unto  him.  Good 
Master,  what  good  thing  shall  I  do,  that  I  may  have 
eternal  life?    And  he  said  unto  him,  Why  callest  thou 

60 


WHAT  THINK  YE  OF  CHEISTf  61 

me  good  ?  there  is  none  good  but  one,  that  is,  God ;  but  if 
thou  wilt  enter  into  life,  keep  the  commandments.  He 
saith  unto  him,  which?  Jesus  said,  Thou  shalt  do  no 
murder.  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery,  Thou  shalt  not 
steal.  Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness.  Honour  thy 
father  and  thy  mother:  and  Thou,  shalt  love  thy  neigh- 
bour as  thyself.  The  young  man  saith  unto  him,  All 
these  things  have  I  kept  from  my  youth  up :  what  lack  I 
yet  ?  Jesus  said  unto  him.  If  thou  wilt  be  perfect,  go  and 
sell  that  thou  hast,  and  give  to  the  poor,  and  thou  shalt 
have  treasure  in  heaven:  and  come  and  follow  me.  But 
when  the  young  man  heard  that  saying,  he  went  away 
sorrowful :  for  he  had  great  possessions. 

If  Christ  had  been  an  adventurer  or  was  interested 
only  in  gaining  a  following  He  would  have  welcomed 
this  young  man,  who  was  not  only  rich,  but,  according 
to  Luke,  a  ruler.  And  what  a  splendid  recommenda- 
tion the  young  man  gave  himself ;  all  of  the  command- 
ments he  had  kept  from  his  youth  up.  How  could  one 
ambitious  for  worldly  success  afford  to  reject  such  an 
applicant?  But  Christ  would  not  lower  the  standard 
a  hair's  breadth  even  to  secure  the  support  of  a  rich 
young  ruler  who  had  led  a  blameless  life.  He  de- 
manded the  first  place  In  the  heart — a  very  reasonable 
demand^ — and,  seeing  in  the  young  man*s  heart  the  first 
place  occupied  by  love  of  money,  He  demanded,  the 
throne.  The  young  man,  unwilling  to  purchase  eter- 
nal life  at  that  price,  went  aw^ay  sorrowing — his  heart 
still  centered  on  his  great  possessions.  Of  whom  but 
an  honest  person  could  such  a  story  be  told  ? 

Was  Christ  deceived  ?  That  is  the  theory  set  forth 
in  a  little  volume  entitled  "A  Jewish  View  of  Jesus  " 
(published  recently  by  the  Macmillan  Company).  The 


62  WHAT  THINK  YE  OF  CHEIST? 

author,  H.  G.  Emelow,  pays  the  following  high  tribute 
to  **  Jesus  the  Jew  "  (and  it  is  the  most  charitable  view 
an  orthodox  Jew  can  hold)  : 

"  Yet,  these  things  apart,  who  can  compute  all  that 
Jesus  has  meant  to  humanity  ?  The  love  He  has  inspired, 
the  solace  He  has  given,  the  good  H,e  has  engendered,  the 
hope  and  joy  He  has  kindled — all  that  is  unequalled  in 
human  history.  Among  the  great  and  good  that  the 
human  race  has  produced,  none  has  even  approached 
Jesus  in  universality  of  appeal  and  sway.  He  has  be- 
come the  most  fascinating  figure  in  history.  In  Him  is 
combined  what  is  best  and  most  enchanting  and  most 
mysterious  in  Israel — the  eternal  people  whose  child  He 
was.  The  Jew  cannot  help  glorying  in  what  Jesus  thus 
has  meant  to  the  world ;  nor  can  he  help  hoping  that  Jesus 
may  yet  serve  as  a  bond  of  union  between  Jew  and 
Christian,  once  His  teaching  is  better  known  and  the  bane 
of  misunderstanding  is  at  last  removed  from  His  words 
and  His  ideal." 

But  could  honest  delusion  produce  a  character  who, 
in  "  the  love  He  has  inspired,"  "  the  solace  He  has 
given,"  and  "  the  hope  and  joy  He  has  kindled  "  is 
"  unequalled  in  human  history  "  ?  Is  it  not  impossible 
that  under  a  delusion  one  could  (as  Emelow  says  Jesus 
did)  become  "  the  most  fascinating  figure  in  history" 
— unapproachable  in  the  "  universality  of  appeal  and 
sway"?  The  world  has  been  full  of  delusions:  have 
any  of  them  produced  a  character  like  Christ?  Tol- 
stoy says  that  the  words  of  Christ  to  His  friends  and 
pupils  have  had  a  hundred  thousand  times  more  in- 
fluence over  the  people  than  all  the  poems,  odes,  elegies 
and  elegant  epistles  of  the  authors  of  that  age.  Lecky, 
the  historian,  says  that  "  the  three  short  years  of  the 


WHAT  THINK  YE  OF  CHEISTt  63 

active  life  of  Jesus  have  done  more  to  regenerate  and 
soften  mankind  than  all  of  the  disquisitions  of  philos- 
ophers and  all  the  exhortations  of  moralists.*'  Could 
this  be  said  of  a  man  labouring  under  a  delusion  as  to 
his  real  character  ? 

What  Christ  said  and  did  and  was  establishes  His 
claims.  In  a  conversation  with  Peter  (Matt.  16:  16), 
He  approved  that  Apostle's  answer  which  ascribed  to 
Him  the  title  of  "  Christ "  (the  Greek  equivalent  for 
Messiah)  "  the  Son  of  the  living  God."  He  not  only 
approved  of  the  answer  bestowing  the  title  but 

"  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him,  Blessed  art 
thou,  Simon  Bar-Jona:  for  flesh  and  blood  hath  not 
revealed  it  unto  thee,  but  my  Father  which  is  in 
heaven."  In  John  10,  verse  30,  He  declares,  **  I  and 
my  Father  are  one";  in  verse  36,  same  chapter, 
He  denies  that  it  was  blasphemy  to  call  Himself 
the  Son  of  God.  In  the  presence  of  death  He  re- 
fused to  deny  the  claim  (Matt.  26:  63-64). 

The  deity  of  Christ  is  proven  in  many  ways;  some 
offering  one  line  of  proof  and  some  another.  Some 
are  convinced  by  the  prophecies  that  found  their  ful- 
fillment in  Christ;  some  give  greatest  weight  to  the 
manner  of  His  birth  and  His  resurrection.  Still  others 
lay  special  emphasis  vipon  the  miracles  performed  by 
Him.  There  is  no  need  of  comparison ;  all  the  proofs 
stand  together  and  bear  joint  testimony  to  His  super- 
natural character,  but  I  find  myself  inclined  to  use  the 
method  of  reasoning  adopted  by  Carnegie  Simpson  in 
his  book  entitled,  "  The  Fact  of  Christ."  Those  who 
reject  Christ  reject  also  the  miraculous  proofs  offered 


64  WHAT  THINK  YE  OF  CHEIST  ? 

in  support  of  His  divine  character,  but  the  fact  of 
Christ  cannot  be  denied.  Christ  Hved;  that  is  ad- 
mitted. He  taught;  we  have  His  words.  He  died 
upon  the  cross ;  that  we  know ;  and  we  can  trace  His 
blood  by  its  cleansing  power  as  it  flows  through  the 
centuries.  Judged  by  His  life,  His  teachings,  and  His 
death,  and  the  impression  they  have  made  upon  the 
human  race,  we  conclude  that  He  was  divine  and  that 
He  has  justified  the  titles  bestowed  upon  Him.  No 
other  explanations  can  account  for  Him.  Born  in  a 
manger ;  reared  in  a  carpenter  shop ;  with  no  access  to 
sages  living  and  no  knowledge  of  the  wisdom  of  sages 
dead,  except  as  that  wisdom  was  recorded  in  the  Old 
Testament,  and  yet  when  only  about  thirty  years  of 
age  He  gave  to  the  world  a  code  of  morality  the  like  of 
which  the  world  had  never  known  before  and  has  not 
known  since.  He  preached  a  short  time,  gathered 
around  Him  a  few  disciples  and  was  crucified;  His 
followers  were  scattered  and  nearly  all  of  the  conspicu- 
ous ones  put  to  death — and  yet  from  this  beginning 
His  religion  spread  until  thousands  of  millions  have 
taken  His  name  upon  them  and  millions  have  been 
ready  to  die  rather  than  surrender  the  faith  that 
He  put  into  their  hearts.  How  can  you  explain 
Christ?  It  is  easier  to  believe  Him  to  be  the  Christ 
whose  coming  was  foretold,  the  Jesus  who  was  to  save 
the  people  from  their  sins — the  Son  of  God  and  Sa- 
viour of  the  World — than  to  account  for  Him  in  any 
other  way. 

To  those  who  try  to  measure  Him  by  the  rules  that 
apply  to  man  He  is  incomprehensible;  but  take  Him 


WHAT  THINK  YE  OF  CHEIST?  66 

out  of  the  man  class  and  put  Him  in  the  God  class  and 
you  can  understand  Him.  He  also  can  be  measured 
by  the  work  He  came  to  perform;  it  was  more  than  a 
man's  task.  No  man  aspiring  to  be  a  God  could 
have  done  what  He  did ;  it  required  a  God  condescend- 
ing to  be  a  man. 

When  once  His  divine  character  is  admitted  we 
have  an  explanation  that  clears  away  all  the  perplex- 
ities. We  can  believe  that  He  was  conceived  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary.  We  can 
believe  that  He  opened  the  eyes  of  the  blind  when 
among  men — we  see  Him  to-day  giving  a  spiritual 
vision  of  life  to  those  who  have  known  only  the  flesh 
and  the  pleasures  that  come  through  the  flesh.  We 
can  believe  that  He  wrought  miracles  when  upon 
earth — ^w^e  see  Him  so  changing  hearts  to-day  that  they 
love  the  things  they  used  to  hate  and  hate  the  things 
they  used  to  love.  We  can  even  believe  that  at  His 
touch  life  was  called  back  to  the  body  from  which  it 
had  taken  its  flight — we  have  seen  Him  take  men  who 
had  fallen  so  low  that  their  own  flesh  and  blood  had 
deserted  them,  lift  them  up,  wash  them  and  fill  their 
hearts  with  a  passion  for  service.  A  Christ  who  can 
do  that  nozv  could  have  broken  the  bonds  of  the  tomb. 

Volumes  Innumerable  have  been  written  on  the- 
ological distinctions,  some  of  which  have  been  made 
the  basis  of  sects.  The  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  has 
been  one  of  the  storm  centers  of  discussion  for  cen- 
turies. It  Is  not  diflicult  for  me  to  believe  In  the 
Trinity  when  I  see  three  distinct  entities  In  each  human 
being — a  physical  man,  a  mental  man  and  a  moral  man. 


66  WHAT  THINK  YE  OF  CHEIST? 

They  are  so  inseparable  that  one  cannot  exist  here 
without  the  other,  and  yet  they  are  so  separate  and 
distinct  that  one  can  be  developed  and  the  others  left 
undeveloped.  Who  has  not  seen  a  splendidly  de- 
veloped body  with  an  ignorant  brain  to  think  for  it  and 
a  puny  spiritual  life  within?  A  weak  body  and  an 
impoverished  soul  are  sometimes  linked  to  a  highly 
trained  mind:  and  an  exalted  character  is  sometimes 
found  in  a  frail  body,  and  even  associated  with  a 
neglected  intellect.  The  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost, 
three  in  one,  present  no  problem  that  need  perplex 
either  the  learned  or  the  unlearned.  We  have  the  evi- 
dence of  the  Father  on  every  hand;  the  proof  of  the 
Son's  growing  influence  is  indisputable ;  the  witness  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  is  to  be  found  in  the  heart  of  every 
believer.    The  three  act  in  unison. 

The  fall  of  man  is  disputed  by  some  who  seem  to 
find  more  satisfaction  in  the  belief  that  they  have  risen 
from  the  brute  and,  therefore,  are  superior  to  their 
ancestors,  than  they  do  in  the  thought  that  man  has 
fallen  from  a  higher  estate.  But  the  facts  do  not 
support  the  brute  theory.  Even  if  the  **  missing  links  " 
could  be  found,  it  would  be  as  reasonable — though  not 
so  flattering  to  man's  pride — to  believe  that  the 
monkey  is  a  degenerate  man  as  that  man  is  an  im- 
proved monkey. 

It  has  often  been  pointed  out  as  evidence  of  man's 
fall  that  he  is  the  only  created  thing  that  does  not  live 
up  to  his  possibilities.  In  plant  and  bird  and  beast 
there  is  no  disobedience — all  fulfill  the  purpose  of  their 
creation,  from  the  flower,  that  puts  forth  its  bloom  as 


WHAT  THINK  YE  OF  CHEISTf  67 

perfectly  when  it  **  wastes  its  sweetness  on  the  desert 
air "  as  when  in  the  garden  its  beauty  calls  forth 
expressions  of  delight,  to  the  bird  that  wakes  the 
echoes  of  trackless  forests  with  its  melody.  Man, 
only  man,  mocks  his  Maker  by  prostituting  to  evil  the 
powers  that  might  lift  him  within  sight  of  the  throne 
of  God. 

If  so  many  men  and  women  fall  now,  in  spite  of 
light  and  love  and  all  the  incentives  to  noble  living,  is 
it  incredible  that  the  first  pair  should  have  fallen  when 
the  race  was  young?  Possibility  becomes  probability 
when  we  remember  that  the  conflict  that  rages  be- 
tween the  mind  and  the  heart  is  the  one  real  conflict 
in  every  life.  Reason  versus  faith  is  the  great  issue 
to-day  as  in  Eden.  Faith  says  obey;  reason  asks. 
Why?  The  one  looks  up  confidingly  to  a  Power 
above;  the  other  relies  on  self  and  rejects  even  the  au- 
thority of  Jehovah  unless  the  finite  mind  can  compre- 
hend the  plan  of  the  Infinite. 

No  one  will  doubt  the  doctrine  of  original  sin  if  he 
will  study  nature  and  then  analyze  himself.  In  the 
plant,  in  the  animal  and  In  the  physical  man,  the  in- 
visible thing  which  we  call  life  is  the  only  sustaining 
force ;  when  it  takes  its  flight,  that  which  remains  falls 
back  to  the  earth  and  becomes  dust.  And  so  the  spiri- 
tual in  man  is  the  only  force  that  can  give  him  a  moral 
nature  and  preserve  it  from  decay;  when  his  spiritual 
life  departs  the  mind  as  well  as  the  body  rots. 

Some  find  a  stumbling  block  in  the  doctrine  of  the 
Atonement.  That  one  should  suffer  for  others,  shocks 
their  sense  of  justice,  they  say,  and  yet  that  is  the  law. 


68  WHAT  THINK  YE  OF  CHEIST? 

of  life.  Each  generation  borrows  from  generations 
past  and  pays  the  debt  to  the  generations  that  follow. 
A  certain  percentage  of  the  mothers  die  in  childbirth — 
evidence  that  they  are  God's  handiwork  is  found  in 
the  fact  they  so  willingly  enter  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death  to  attain  to  motherhood.  Many  a 
boy  has  been  won  back  to  rectitude  by  the  sorrows  of 
a  parent ;  we  are  not  infrequently  healed  by  the  stripes 
that  fall  on  others.  In  fact,  great  wrongs  are  seldom 
righted  without  the  shedding  of  innocent  blood — one 
dies  and  a  multitude  are  saved.  These  do  not  always 
illustrate  the  voluntary  laying  down  of  life  but  there 
are  enough  cases  of  noble  surrender  of  self  for  a  friend 
or  for  the  public  to  make  it  easy  for  any  one  to  under- 
stand how  Christ  could  take  upon  Himself  the  sins  of 
the  world  and  become  man's  intercessor  with  the  Fa- 
ther. Winning  hearts  through  love  expressed  in  sac- 
rifice, is  that  strange  ?  On  the  contrary,  it  is  the  only 
way.  It  is  because  the  story  of  Jesus  is  a  natural  one 
that  it  has  touched  mankind.  Hearts  understand  each 
other.  The  heart,  says  Pascal,  has  reasons  that  the 
mind  does  not  understand  because  the  heart  is  of  an 
infinitely  higher  character. 

The  sacrificial  character  of  Chrisfs  death  and  the 
atoning  power  of  His  blood  are  the  basis  of  the  New 
Testament.  To  discard  this  doctrine  is  to  reject  the 
plainest  teachings  of  the  Apostles  and  the  words  of 
Christ  Himself. 

Peter,  than  whom  there  is  no  higher  human  author- 
ity, says  (1  Peter  2:  24) :  "  Who  his  own  self  bare  our 
sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree,  that  we,  being  dead  to 


WHAT  THINK  YE  OF  CHEIST?  69 

sins,  should  live  unto  righteousness;  by  whose  stripes 
ye  were  healed." 

John,  the  Beloved,  speaks  as  clearly  on  this  subject 
(John  3:  16-17) :  "  For  God  so  loved  the  world,  that 
he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believ- 
eth  in  him,  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life. 
For  God  sent  not  his  Son  nito  the  world  to  condemn 
the  world;  but  that  the  world  through  him  might  be 
saved."  Paul  was  equally  emphatic;  he  says  (1  Cor. 
2:  2)  :  "  For  I  determined  not  to  know  anything  among 
you,  save  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified."  And  again 
(1  Cor.  1:  30):  "  But  of  him  are  ye  in  Christ  Jesus 
who  of  God  is  made  unto  us  wisdom  and  righteous- 
ness, and  sanctification  and  redemption." 

But  we  have  higher  authority  still — ^we  have  the 
words  of  Christ  Himself.  At  the  last  supper,  with 
His  disciples  about  Him,  He  spoke  of  His  blood  being 
"  shed  for  many  for  the  remission  of  sins." 

It  is  the  story  of  His  sacrifice  for  others — of  His 
blood  shed  that  the  world  might  through  Him  find  for- 
giveness— that  has  been  understood  by  the  unlettered 
as  well  as  by  scholars  and  has  brought  millions  to  the 
foot  of  the  cross.  Even  those  who  have  not  been  in 
position  to  compare  His  code  of  morals  with  the  teach- 
ings of  others  have  been  able  to  comprehend  a  plan  of 
salvation  by  which  one  died  for  all  and  all  find  forgive- 
ness in  His  sacrifice.  It  is  this  Gospel  that  has  made 
it  possible  for  the  forgiven  sinner  to  go  forth  to  begin 
a  new  life,  no  longer  under  conviction  of  sin  and  re- 
membering his  past  only  as  an  incentive  to  service. 

The  presence  of  Judas  at  the  Last  Supper  has  been 


70  WHAlT THINK  YE  OF  CHRIST! 

the  cause  of  much  speculation  throughout  the  cen- 
turies. The  indignation  of  Christians  is  stirred  at  the 
thought  of  a  traitor  being  present  on  this  solemn  occa- 
sion when  Christ  instituted  one  of  the  great  sacraments 
of  the  Church.  The  Saviour  not  only  knew  what 
Judas  was  about  to  do  but  called  attention  to  it  and 
designated  the  guilty  one,  but  there  was  no  appearance 
of  the  anger  which  would  be  natural  in  a  mortal ;  He 
knew  the  plan  of  salvation. 

But  why  should  the  betrayal  have  come  from  one  of 
the  twelve?  It  is  not  necessary  to  find  a  satisfactory 
answer  to  all  the  questions  that  may  arise  from  the 
reading  of  the  Bible,  and  the  finite  mind  should  not  be 
discouraged  if  it  fails  to  fathom  the  reasons  of  the 
Infinite  Intelligence.  If  there  are  mysteries  in  the 
Bible  that  we  cannot  unravel  they  are  not  greater  than 
the  mysteries  in  nature  with  which  we  must  deal 
whether  we  understand  them  or  not. 

But  I  venture  to  suggest  one  effect,  produced  by  the 
fact  that  one  of  the  twelve  proved  a  traitor,  namely, 
the  scrutiny  that  it  has  compelled  millions  of  Chris- 
tians to  turn  upon  themselves.  "  Lord,  is  it  I  ?  "  each 
of  the  disciples  anxiously  inquired.  Even  Judas  him- 
self, coerced  by  the  action  of  the  others,  asked,  "  Mas- 
ter, IS  it  I?  "  So,  to-day,  there  is  real  betrayal  of  the 
Saviour  by  some  who  take  His  name  upon  them  and 
before  the  world  profess  to  be  His  followers.  If 
Judas  had  been  an  outsider  and  had  sold  for  money  the 
knowledge  he  had  gained  as  a  looker-on  his  name 
would  not  have  become,  as  the  name  of  Judas  has,  a 
synonym  for  all  that  is  base  and  contemptible ;  and  the 


WHAT  THINK  YE  OF  CHEIST?  71 

Christian  world  would  have  been  without  the  benefit 
of  that  glaring  act  of  perfidy  that  has  sounded  its 
warning  through  nineteen  centuries.  Judas  sold  the 
Saviour  for  money,  just  as  many  a  professing  Chris- 
tian since  then  has,  for  money,  betrayed  the  Master. 
Who  will  calculate  the  restraint  that  that  one  question, 
"  Lord,  is  it  I  ?  "  has  exerted  upon  Christ's  followers 
in  the  hour  when  some  great  temptation  has  made  the 
believer  hesitate  upon  the  brink  of  sin? 

I  will  not  attempt  to  enumerate  all  the  ways  in  which 
Christ  has  and  can  bless  mankind,  but  the  living  spring 
has  taught  me  one  way.  The  spring  is  the  best  illus- 
tration of  the  Christian  life,  just  as  a  stagnant  pool  is 
the  best  illustration  of  a  selfish  life.  The  pool  receives 
but  gives  forth  nothing  in  return  and,  at  last,  becomes 
the  center  of  disease  and  death.  There  is  nothing 
more  repulsive  than  the  stagnant  pool  except  a  life 
built  upon  that  plan.  The  spring,  on  the  other  hand, 
pours  forth  constantly  of  that  which  refreshes  and  in- 
vigorates and  asks  for  nothing.  There  is  nothing 
more  inspiring  than  a  living  spring  except  the  life  that 
it  resembles. 

And  why  is  the  spring  a  spring?  Because  /f  is  con- 
nected with  a  source  that  is  higher  than  itself.  Christ 
brings  man  into  such  vital,  living  contact  with  God  that 
the  goodness  of  God  flows  out  to  the  world  through, 
him.  The  frailest  human  being  can  thus  become  of 
inestimable  value  to  society.  It  is  only  spiritual  power, 
received  from  above,  that  counts  largely.  If  we  meas- 
ure man  in  units  of  physical  power  he  is  not  much 
above  the  beasts;  if  we  measure  hinx  in  units  of  intel^. 


72  WHAT  THINK  YE  OF  CHRIST? 

lectual  power  we  soon  reach  his  limitations,  but  when 
we  measure  him  in  units  of  spiritual  power  his 
strength  may  be  beyond  human  calculations.  If,  as 
was  the  case  in  Wales,  the  prayer  of  a  little  girl  could 
start  a  revival  that  spread  over  that  country,  resulting 
in  the  conversion  of  thousands,  what  can  a  life  accom- 
plish if  one's  heart  is  full  of  love  to  God  and  man? 

The  wisdom  of  Christ  could  not  have  been  supplied 
by  others ;  there  were  none  to  supply  it.  There  was  no 
source  but  the  inexhaustible  fountain  of  the  Almighty 
from  which  to  draw  that  which  He  gave  forth  "  as  one 
having  authority."  "  Who  among  His  Apostles  or 
proselytes,"  asks  John  Stuart  Mill,  "  was  capable  of 
inventing  the  sayings  ascribed  to  Jesus  or  of  imagining 
the  life  and  character  revealed  in  the  Gospels?  " 

No  person,  less  than  divine,  could  have  carried  the 
message  or  rendered  the  service  He  did  to  mankind. 
How,  for  instance,  could  He  have  learned  from  His 
own  experience  or  from  His  environment  the  startling 
proposition  that  He  embodied  in  His  interpretation  of 
The  Parable  of  the  Sower?  "  The  care  of  this  world 
and  the  deceitfulness  of  riches  choke  the  truth,"  and 
yet  in  that  short  sentence  He  gave  an  epitome  of  all 
human  history.  Reforms  come  up  from  the  oppressed, 
not  down  from  the  oppressors — a  fact  which  Christ 
explains  in  a  word. 

He  announced  the  divine  order:  "  Seek  ye  first  the 
kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness."  Duty  to  God 
comes  first — all  other  things  that  are  good  for  us  will 
come  in  due  time. 

His  parables  stand  alone  in  literature ;  they  have  no 


WHAT  THINK  YE  OF  CHEIST?  73 

parallel  in  the  expression  of  great  truths  with  beauty 
and  simplicity  through  object  lessons  taken  from 
every-day  life.  These  truths  covered  a  wide  range 
and  were  embedded  in  the  language  of  the  parable  be- 
cause of  the  unbelief  of  that  day.  They  are  increas- 
ingly appreciated  as  their  practical  application  to  all 
time  becomes  more  and  more  manifest. 

The  parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son  is  the  most  beauti- 
ful story  of  its  kind  ever  told  and  is  based  on  an  ex- 
perience through  which  nearly  every  person  passes,  but 
few  of  whom,  fortunately,  carry  the  spirit  of  rebellion 
to  the  point  of  leaving  home.  At  that  period  which 
marks  the  transition  from  youth  to  maturity — from 
dependence  on  others  to  self-reliance — rebelliousness  is 
likely  to  be  exhibited  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  even 
where  the  parents  have  done  everything  possible  for 
the  child.  Christ  takes  an  extreme  case  where  the 
wisdom  and  experience  of  the  father  were  scorned; 
where  a  wilful  son  insisted  upon  learning  for  himself 
of  the  things  against  which  the  father  had  warned  him. 
He  was  of  age ;  parental  authority  could  no  longer  be 
exerted  for  his  protection.  He  had  his  way,  and  as 
long  as  his  money  lasted  he  found  plenty  of  associates 
willing  to  help  him  spend  It ;  the  "  boys  "  had  what  the 
wicked  call  "  a  good  time."  Then  came  the  sobering 
up,  the  repentance,  the  humility,  the  return,  the  father's 
welcome,  the  very  natural  complaint  of  the  other  son 
and  the  parental  rebuke — all  so  lifelike  and  all  designed 
to  give  emphasis  to  the  love  of  the  Heavenly  Father 
and  the  joy  in  Heaven  when  a  wanderer  returns.  How 
many  souls  it  has  awakened!     The  thought  has  been 


74  WHAT  THINK  YE  OF  CHEISTI 

beautifully  translated  into  song  by  Rev.  Robt.  Lowry, 
in  "  Where  Is  My  Wandering  Boy  To-night?  "  which 
has  probably  touched  more  hearts  than  any  sermon  de- 
livered since  the  song  w^as  written  in  1877. 

In  passing,  note  the  contrast  between  the  Rich  Young 
Man  and  the  Prodigal  Son.  The  former,  an  exem- 
plary youth,  is  lost  because  he  put  the  love  of  money 
first — we  see  his  back  as  he  retires  into  oblivion.  The 
latter,  a  reckless  sinner,  repentant  and  forgiven;  we 
leave  him  at  a  banquet,  happy  with  father  and  friends 
who  rejoice  that  one  who  "  was  dead  is  alive  again." 

The  parable  of  The  Talents  has  shamed  a  multitude 
into  activity,  while  the  parable  of  The  Vineyard  has 
been  an  encouragement  to  those  who  have  neglected 
early  calls  to  service.  He  used  the  great  preservative, 
salt,  to  illustrate  the  saving  influence  His  followers 
would  exert  on  society  and  warned  them  not  to  lose 
this  quality.  He  likened  them  to  a  city  set  on  a  hill 
and  to  the  light  that  illumines  the  entire  house. 

Christ  gave  the  world  a  philosophy  that  fits  into 
every  human  need ;  He  sounded  all  the  depths.  In  the 
first  and  third  of  the  Beatitudes  He  exalts  humility — a 
virtue  difficult  to  cultivate,  and  even  to  retain  after  one 
has  cultivated  it.  Some  one  has  suggested  that  pride 
is  such  an  insidious  sin  that  the  humble  sometimes  be- 
come proud  of  their  humility.  Christ  sets  two  prizes 
before  the  humble — the  poor  in  spirit  are  to  have  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven  for  their  recompense  while 
the  meek  are  to  be  given  the  earth  for  their  inherit- 
ance. 

The_ mourners  are  to  be  comforted  and  the  merciful. 


WHAT  THINK  YE  OF  CHRIST?  75 

are  to  obtain  mercy.  Righteousness  is  to  be  the  re- 
ward of  those  who  hunger  and  thirst  after  it,  and  the 
peacemakers  are  to  be  crowned  with  one  of  the  most 
honourable  of  appellations,  the  children  of  God. 

He  devotes  double  space  to  those  who  are  reviled 
and  persecuted  for  His  sake,  foreseeing  the  fierce  op- 
position which  His  Gospel  would  arouse.  In  the  study 
of  the  Beatitudes  one  Sunday,  I  asked  the  members  of 
an  adult  class  which  they  considered  first  in  impor- 
tance. Although  there  was  quite  a  wide  difference  in 
preference,  the  Sixth,  ''  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart, 
for  they  shall  see  God,"  received  the  highest  vote. 
And  what  can  be  more  important  than  the  cleansing  of 
the  heart  of  all  that  obstructs  one's  view  of  God  ?  The 
Creator  is  equally  near  to  all  His  creatures — He  is  no 
respecter  of  persons.  It  is  man's  fault  if  he  allows 
anything  to  come  between  himself  and  the  Heavenly 
Father.  Surely,  nothing  is  more  to  be  desired  than 
the  unclouded  vision.  "  Thou  shalt  have  no  other 
gods  before  me,"  is  the  first  of  the  Commandments 
brought  down  from  Sinai  and  its  primacy  is  endorsed 
by  the  Saviour:  the  sixth  Beatitude  expresses  the  same 
supreme  requirement.  No  false  gods,  not  even  self — 
the  most  popular  of  all  the  false  gods — must  be  per- 
mitted to  come  between  man  and  his  Maker. 

Christ  put  into  simple  words  some  of  the  great  rules 
for  the  interpretation  of  life.  "  By  their  fruits  ye 
shall  know  them,"  has  become  a  part  of  the  language 
of  the  civilized  world.  "  Do  men  gather  grapes  of 
thorns,  or  figs  of  thistles?"  He  asks.  "A  good  tree 
cannot  bring  forth  evil  fruit,  neither  can  a  corrupt  tree 


76  WHAT  THINK  YE  OP  CHEIST? 

bring  forth  good  fruit."  Here  a  great  spiritual  prin- 
ciple was  announced.  We  must  consider  the  nature; 
nothing  less  than  a  change  in  the  nature  can  change  the 
fruit.  A  bad  heart  is  just  as  sure  to  bring  forth  bad 
thoughts  and  bad  deeds  as  the  thistle  is  to  bring  forth 
thorns.  And  so  the  good  heart  is  just  as  sure  to  yield 
good  deeds  as  the  grape-vine  is  to  yield  grapes  or  the 
fig-tree  is  to  yield  figs.  Look  at  the  tree,  therefore; 
the  fruit  will  take  care  of  itself. 

In  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  in  which  He  embodied 
such  a  wealth  of  moral  precept  and  spiritual  counsel, 
He  warned  against  investments  in  that  which  would 
divert  the  affections  from  the  great  purpose  of  life. 
"  Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  treasures  on  earth,  but  lay 
up  for  yourselves  treasures  in  heaven."  "  For  where 
your  treasure  is,  there  will  your  heart  be  also."  It  was 
the  heart  that  He  dealt  with — always  the  heart,  in 
which  man  does  his  decisive  thinking  and  out  of  which 
are  "  the  issues  of  life." 

The  Master  dealt  with  the  beginnings  of  evil.  He 
did  not  wait  until  the  sin  had  been  completed  or  the 
wrong  accomplished.  He  cut  out  the  bad  purpose  at 
its  birth  before  it  had  time  to  develop.     He  says: 

And  if  thy  right  eye  offend  thee,  pluck  it  out,  and  cast 
it  from  thee:  for  it  is  profitable  for  thee  that  one  of  thy 
members  should  perish,  and  not  that  thy  whole  body 
should  be  cast  into  hell.  And  if  thy  right  hand  offend 
thee,  cut  it  off,  and  cast  it  from  thee :  for  it  is  profitable 
for  thee  that  one  of  thy  members  should  perish,  and  not 
that  thy  whole  body  should  be  cast  into  hell  (Matt.  3  :  29). 

This  mav  seem  like  a  harsh  doctrine  and  yet  it  is 


WHAT  THINK  YE  OF  CHEIST?  77 

merely  an  application  to  morals  of  a  salutary  principle 
that  all  understand  when  applied  by  the  surgeon.  A 
finger  is  often  removed  in  order  to  save  the  hand;  a 
hand  is  removed  to  save  the  arm;  and  an  arm  is  re- 
moved to  save  the  body.  An  eye,  too,  is  often  re- 
moved to  save  the  sight  of  the  remaining  eye.  Is  eye 
or  arm  or  body  more  important  than  the  soul  ? 

Christ  understood  relative  values  in  the  spiritual 
world.  He  used  the  material  things  in  life  to  illustrate 
values  in  the  realm  of  the  ideal;  He  used  the  things 
that  are  seen  to  make  understandable  the  eternal  things 
that  the  senses  cannot  comprehend. 

And  what  called  forth  this  powerful  illustration — 
the  sacrificing  of  the  right  eye  and  the  right  hand  to 
save  the  body?  He  was  laying  the  foundation  for  a 
great  moral  reform,  namely,  the  single  standard  of 
morality.  He  was  attacking  a  great  sin  and,  as  usual, 
He  laid  the  axe  at  the  root  of  the  tree.  He  was  deal- 
ing with  adultery  and  He  traced  the  sin  to  its  source. 
He  would  purge  the  heart  of  the  unclean  thought ;  He 
would  put  a  ban  on  the  desire  before  it  found  vent  in 
accomplishment.  He  turned  the  thought  from  the 
body  to  the  heart  and  to  the  soul. 

And  He  not  only  warned  men  against  harbouring 
the  seeds  of  this  sin  but  He  rebuked  them  for  injustice 
in  dealing  more  harshly  with  woman  than  they  did 
with  themselves.  He  did  not  condone  sin;  He  for- 
gave It,  and  accompanied  forgiveness  with  the  injunc- 
tion, "  Sin  no  more." 

Chri&t  dignified  childhood  next  to  womanhood.  One 
of  His  most  beautiful  lessons  was  woven  about  a  child 


78  WHAT  THINK  YE  OF  CHEIST? 

which  He  summoned  from  the  crowd.  The  child's 
faith  was  made  the  test — "  Except  ye  be  converted  and 
become  as  little  children  ye  shall  not  enter  into  the 
kingdom/*  And  again,  "  Suffer  the  little  children  to 
come  unto  me  and  forbid  them  not:  for  of  such  is  the 
kingdom  of  heaven." 

His  depth  of  affection — His  longing  for  souls — is 
beautifully  set  forth  in  Matthew  23 :  37  when  He  uses 
the  most  familiar  object  in  the  animal  kingdom  to  ex- 
press His  solicitude:  "O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  thou 
that  killest  the  prophets,  and  stonest  them  which  are 
sent  unto  thee,  how  often  would  I  have  gathered  thy 
children  together,  even  as  a  hen  gathereth  her  chickens 
under  her  wings,  and  ye  would  not !  " 

And  yet  this  gentle  spirit  who  would  not  break  a 
bruised  reed — who  went  about  doing  good — was  wont 
to  blaze  forth  with  hot  indignation  against  sordidness 
and  systematized  injustice.  Hear  His  fierce  denuncia- 
tion of  the  "  scribes,  Pharisees  and  hypocrites  "  who 
devoured  widows'  houses  and  for  a  pretense  made  long 
prayers;  and  behold  Him  casting  the  money-changers 
out  of  the  temple  because  they  had  turned  the  house  of 
prayer  into  a  den  of  thieves. 

In  a  startling  paradox  He  sets  forth  a  great  truth: 
"  Whosoever  shall  save  his  life  shall  lose  it ;  but  who- 
soever shall  lose  his  life  for  my  sake,  the  same  shall 
save  it."  When,  before  or  since,  has  the  littleness  of 
the  self-centered  been  so  exposed  and  the  nobility  of 
self-surrender  been  so  glorified  ?  Wendell  Phillips  has 
given  a  splendid  paraphrase  of  this  wonderful  utter- 
ance.    He  says,  "  How  prudently  most  men  sink  into 


WHAT  THINK  YE  OP  CHEIST?  79 

nameless  graves,  while  now  and  then  a  few  forget 
themselves  into  immortality." 

But  the  one  doctrine  which  more  than  any  other  dis- 
tinguished His  teachings  from  those  of  uninspired  in- 
structors, is  forgiveness.  Time  and  again  He  brings 
it  forward  and  lays  emphasis  upon  it.  In  the  very  be- 
ginning of  His  ministry  He  drew  a  contrast  between 
the  perverted  morals  of  that  day  and  the  spiritual  life 
into  which  He  would  lead  them  (Matt.  5) : 

Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said,  Thou  shalt  love 
thy  neighbour,  and  hate  thine  enemy.  But  I  say  unto 
you,  Love  your  enemies,  bless  them  that  curse  you,  do 
good  to  them  that  hate  you,  and  pray  for  them  which 
despitefully  use  you  and  persecute  you ;  That  ye  may  be 
the  children  of  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven,  for  he 
maketh  his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  on  the  good,  and 
sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust.  For  if  ye  love 
them  which  love  you,  what  reward  have  ye  ?  Do  not  even 
the  publicans  the  same  ?  And  if  ye  salute  your  brethren 
only,  what  do  ye  more  than  others?  Do  not  even  the 
publicans  so?  Be  ye  therefore  perfect,  even  as  your 
Father  which  is  in  heaven  is  perfect. 

A  little  later,  He  embodies  the  thought  in  the  Lord^s 
Prayer — "  Forgive  us  our  trespasses  as  we  forgive 
those  who  trespass  against  us."  He  follows  that  with 
a  scathing  arraignment  of  the  cruel  servant,  who,  hav- 
ing been  forgiven  a  debt  almost  Incalculable  in  amount, 
refused  to  forgive  a  small  debt  due  to  him.  Even 
when  in  agony  upon  the  cross  the  thought  of  forgive- 
ness was  uppermost  in  the  Saviour's  heart  and  He 
prayed :  "  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not 
what  they  do !  " 

He  was  not  thinking  of  relief  to  wrong-doers  when 


80  WHAT  THINK  YE  OF  CHEIST? 

He  made  forgiveness  a  cardinal  principle  in  the  moral 
code  that  He  promulgated.  It  was  not,  I  am  per- 
suaded, to  shield  from  just  punishment  one  who  does 
injury  to  another,  but  to  save  the  injured  from  the 
paralyzing  influence  of  the  thirst  for  revenge.  It  is 
only  rarely  that  one  has  an  opportunity  to  retaliate,  but 
the  desire  for  retaliation  is  a  soul-destroying  disease. 
Christ  would  purge  the  heart  of  hatred  and  make  love 
the  law  of  life. 

Christianity  has  been  called  "  The  Gospel  of  the 
Second  Chance  " ;  it  is  more  than  that.  There  is  no 
limit  to  the  chances  that  it  offers  to  the  repentant. 
When  Christ  was  asked  whether  one  should  forgive  a 
brother  seven  times  He  answered,  "  Seventy  times 
seven."  Christianity  is  the  only  hope  of  the  discour- 
aged and  the  despondent.  Walter  Malone  has  put  into 
a  poem  entitled  "  Opportunity  "  the  exhaustless  mercy 
that  Christ  holds  out  to  men.  I  quote  the  concluding 
stanzas : 

Though  deep  in  mire,  wring  not  your  hands  and  weep: 
I  lend  my  arm  to  all  who  say  "  I  can  " ; 

No  shamefaced  outcast  ever  sank  so  deep 
But  he  might  rise  and  be  again  a  man ! 

Dost  thou  behold  thy  lost  youth  all  aghast  ? 

Dost  reel  from  righteous  retribution's  blow  ? 
Then  turn  from  blotted  archives  of  the  past, 

And  find  the  future's  pages  white  as  snow. 

Art  thou  a  mourner?    Rouse  thee  from  thy  spell; 

Art  thou  a  sinner?     Sins  may  be  forgiven. 
Each  morning  gives  thee  wings  to  flee  from  hell, 

Each  night  a  star  to  guide  thy  feet  to  heaven. 


WHAT  THINK  YE  OF  CHRIST?  81 

When  the  Heavenly  Father  reserved  to  Himself  the 
right  to  avenge  injuries  He  conferred  an  incalculable 
benefit  upon  mankind,  just  as  He  did  when  He  im- 
posed upon  the  organs  of  the  body  the  task  of  keeping 
us  alive.  Not  a  heart  could  beat,  nor  could  the  lungs 
expand  if  their  movement  had  been  left  to  the  volun- 
tary act  of  man.  But  God  has  relieved  His  creatures 
of  concern  about  blood  and  breath  that  man,  freed 
from  a  labour  beyond  his  strength,  may  employ  his 
time  in  the  service  of  his  Maker.  And  so  man  is  re- 
lieved from  the  impossible  task  of  avenging  wrongs 
done  him  that  he  may  devote  himself  to  the  public 
weal. 

I  shall  at  another  time  speak  of  some  of  the  present- 
day  fruits  of  this  doctrine  taught  nineteen  centuries 
ago;  I  present  it  now  as  one  of  the  most  difficult  of  the 
Christian  virtues  to  cultivate,  but  one  of  the  most  pro- 
lific in  the  blessings  that  it  bestows.  It  contributes 
largely  to  the  securing  of  peace,  and  Christ  Is  the 
Prince  of  Peace. 

All  the  world  is  in  search  of  peace ;  every  heart  that 
ever  beat  has  sought  for  peace  and  many  have  been  the 
methods  employed  to  secure  it.  Some  have  thought  to 
purchase  It  with  riches  and  they  have  laboured  to  se- 
cure wealth,  hoping  to  find  peace  when  they  were  able 
to  go  where  they  pleased  and  buy  what  they  liked.  Of 
those  who  have  endeavoured  to  purchase  peace  with 
money,  the  large  majority  have  failed  to  secure  the 
money.  But  what  has  been  the  experience  of  those 
who  have  been  successful  In  accumulating  money? 
They  all  tell  the  same  story,  viz.,  that  they  spent  the 


82  WHAT  THINK  YE  OF  CHEISTI 

first  half  of  their  lives  trying  to  get  money  from  others 
and  the  last  half  trying  to  keep  others  from  getting 
their  money  and  that  they  found  peace  in  neither  half. 
Some  have  even  reached  the  point  where  they  find  dif- 
ficulty in  getting  v^orthy  institutions  to  accept  their 
money;  and  I  know  of  no  better  indication  of  the 
ethical  awakening  in  this  country  than  the  increasing 
tendency  to  scrutinize  the  methods  of  money-making. 
A  long  step  in  advance  will  have  been  taken  when  re- 
ligious, educational  and  charitable  institutions  refuse 
to  condone  immoral  methods  in  business  and  leave  the 
possessor  of  ill-gotten  gains  to  learn  the  loneliness  of 
life  when  one  prefers  money  to  morals. 

Some  have  sought  peace  in  social  distinctions,  but 
whether  they  have  been  within  the  charmed  circle  and 
fearful  lest  they  might  fall  out,  or  outside  and  hopeful 
that  they  might  get  in,  they  have  not  found  peace. 

Some  have  thought,  vain  thought!  to  find  peace  in 
political  prominence ;  but  whether  office  comes  by  birth, 
as  in  monarchies,  or  by  election,  as  in  republics,  it  does 
not  bring  peace.  An  office  is  conspicuous  only  when 
few  can  occupy  it.  Only  when  few  in  a  generation 
can  hope  to  enjoy  an  honour  do  we  call  it  a  great 
honour.  I  am  glad  that  our  Heavenly  Father  did  not 
make  the  peace  of  the  human  heart  to  depend  upon  the 
accumulation  of  wealth,  or  upon  the  securing  of  social 
or  political  distinction,  for  in  either  case  but  few  could 
have  enjoyed  it.  When  He  made  peace  the  reward  of 
a  conscience  void  of  offense  toward  God  and  man.  He 
put  it  within  the  reach  of  all.  The  poor  can  secure  it 
as  easily  as  the  rich,  the  social  outcast  as  freely  as  the 


WHAT  THINK  YE  OF  CHEIST!  83 

leader  in  society,  and  the  humblest  citizen  equally  with 
those  who  wield  political  power. 

"  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy 
laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest.  Take  my  yoke  upon 
you,  and  learn  of  me;  for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  in 
heart:  and  ye  shall  find  rest  unto  your  souls.  For  my 
yoke  is  easy,  and  my  burden  is  light "  (Matt.  11:  28- 
30). 

Here  is  a  call  to  all — to  every  human  being.  No 
one  is  beyond  the  reach  of  Jesus'  love.  The  yoke  is 
the  emblem  of  service  and  service  is  the  price  of  hap- 
piness. We  wear  many  yokes  in  common — the  yoke 
of  society,  the  yoke  of  government,  and  the  yoke  of 
custom,  not  to  speak  of  a  multitude  of  yokes  that  are 
individual.  Wherever  the  Gospel  has  been  carried 
there  are  two  yokes  between  which  a  choice  must  be 
made — the  devil's  yoke  and  the  yoke  of  the  Master. 

Let  no  one  be  deceived — if  the  devil  would  tempt  the 
Saviour  Himself,  will  he  not  tempt  you?  Satan's 
service  is  alluring — It  begins  in  pleasure  and  ends  in 
sorrow — "  the  dead  are  there !  "  Christ's  service  be- 
gins in  duty  and  ends  in  delight — "  Blessed  is  the  man 
who  endureth  temptation."  The  devil's  path  is  like  a 
forest  road  at  eventide;  it  grows  darker  and  darker 
until  all  Is  lost  In  the  blackness  of  the  night.  Christ's 
path  leads  from  darkness  Into  light. 

"  He  Is  risen !  "  What  inspiration  In  these  words ! 
Nature  proclaims  a  life  beyond  the  grave,  but  Christ 
proves  It  by  His  resurrection.  Nature  gives  circum- 
stantial evidence  that  would  seem  conclusive;  but 
Christ  Is  the  living  witness  whose  testimony  establishes 


84  WHAT  THINK  YE  OF  CHRIST? 

beyond  controversy  that  the  mortal  can  put  on  immor- 
tality. He  comforts  those  who  mourn;  He  dispels  the 
gloom  by  making  death  but  a  narrow,  star-lit  strip  be- 
tween the  companionship  of  yesterday  and  the  reunion 
of  to-morrow.  Christ  not  only  gives  us  assurance  of 
immortality  but  He  adds  the  promise  of  His  return. 
As  He  ascended  in  like  manner  will  He  come  again. 

"And,  lo,  he  goeth  before  you  into  Galilee."  Yes, 
He  is  still  going  on  before — still  leading,  and  His  lead- 
ership will  continue  until  time  shall  be  no  more. 

The  growth  of  Christianity  from  its  beginning  on 
the  banks  of  the  Jordan,  until  to-day,  when  its  converts 
are  baptized  in  every  part  of  the  world,  is  so  graph- 
ically described  by  Dr.  Charles  Edward  Jefferson,  in 
his  book  entitled  "  Things  Fundamental,"  that  I  take 
the  liberty  of  giving  the  following  extracts : 

"  Christ  in  history !  There  is  a  fact — face  it.  Accord- 
ing to  the  New  Testament,  Jesus  walked  along  the  shores 
of  a  little  sea  known  as  the  Sea  of  Galilee.  And  there 
He  called  Peter  and  Andrew  and  James  and  John  and 
several  others  to  be  His  followers,  and  they  left  all  and 
followed  Him.  After  they  had  followed  Him  they  re- 
vered Him,  and  later  on  adored  and  worshipped  Him. 
He  left  them  on  their  faces,  each  man  saying,  '  My  Lord 
and  my  God ! '    All  that  is  in  the  New  Testament. 

"  But  put  the  New  Testament  away.  Time  passes ; 
history  widens;  an  unseen  Presence  walks  up  and  down 
the  shores  of  a  larger  sea,  the  sea  called  the  Mediter- 
ranean— and  this  unseen  Presence  calls  men  to  follow 
Him  .  .  .  — another  twelve — and  these  all  followed 
Him  and  cast  themselves  at  His  feet,  saying,  in  the 
words  of  the  earlier  twelve,  *  My  Lord  and  my  God !  * 

"  Time  passes ;  history  advances ;  humanity  lives  its 
life  around  the  circle  of  a  larger  sea — the  Atlantic  Ocean. 


WHAT  THINK  YE  OP  CHRIST?  85 

An  unseen  Presence  walks  up  and  down  the  shores  call- 
ing men  to  follow  Him.  .  .  .  — another  twelve — and 
these  leave  all  and  follow  Him.  We  find  them  on  their 
faces,  each  one  saying,  '  My  Lord  and  my  God ! ' 

"  Time  passes ;  history  is  widening ;  humanity  is  build- 
ing its  civilization  around  a  still  wider  sea — we  call  it  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  An  unknown  Presence  moves  up  and 
down  the  shores  calling  men  to  follow  Him,  and  they  are 
doing  it.  Another  company  of  twelve  is  forming.  And 
what  took  place  in  Palestine  nineteen  centuries  ago  is 
taking  place  again  in  our  own  day  and  under  our  own 
eyes." 

I  conclude  by  calling  attention  to  the  comprehensive- 
ness of  Christ's  authority.  After  His  crucifixion  and 
resurrection — in  His  last  conference  with  His  follow- 
ers— He  announces  His  boldest  claim  to  power  univer- 
sal and  perpetual  (Matt.  28) : 

.  .  .  All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in 
earth.  Go  ye  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing 
them  In  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost;  Teaching  them  to  observe  all  things 
whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you:  and,  lo,  I  am  with 
you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world.     Amen. 

Here  is  a  Gospel  intended  for  every  human  being; 
here  is  a  code  of  morals  that  is  to  endure  for  all  time; 
here  is  a  solution  for  every  problem  that  can  vex  a 
heart  or  perplex  a  world,  and  back  of  these  is  all  poiver 
in  Heaven  and  in  Earth. 

The  word  all  is  used  four  times  in  a  few  sentences. 
There  is  nothing  in  reserve.  We  have  the  final  word 
in  religion — Jesus  Christ  for  all,  and  for  all  time — 
"  The  same  yesterday,  and  to-day  and  forever." 


IV 
THE  ORIGIN  OF  MAN 

WHEN  the  mainspring  is  broken  a  watch 
ceases  to  be  useful  as  a  timekeeper.  A 
handsome  case  may  make  it  still  an  orna- 
ment and  the  parts  may  have  a  market  value,  but  it 
cannot  serve  the  purpose  of  a  watch.  There  is  that 
in  each  human  life  that  corresponds  to  the  mainspring 
of  a  watch — that  which  is  absolutely  necessary  if  the 
life  is  to  be  what  it  should  be,  a  real  life  and  not  a 
mere  existence.  That  necessary  thing  is  a  belief  in 
God.  Religion  is  defined  as  the  relation  between  God 
and  man,  and  Tolstoy  has  described  morality  as  the 
outward  expression  of  this  inward  relationship. 

If  it  be  true,  as  I  believe  it  is,  that  morality  is  de- 
pendent upon  religion,  then  religion  is  not  only  the 
most  practical  thing  in  the  world,  but  the  first  es- 
sential. Without  religion,  viz.,  a  sense  of  depend- 
ence upon  God  and  reverence  for  Him,  one  can  play 
a  part  in  both  the  physical  and  the  intellectual  world, 
but  he  cannot  live  up  to  the  possibilities  which  God 
has  placed  within  the  reach  of  each  human  being. 

A  belief  in  God  is  fundamental ;  upon  it  rest  the  in- 
fluences that  control  life. 

First,  the  consciousness  of  God's  presence  in  the  life 
gives  one  a  sense  of  responsibility  to  the  Creator  for 
every  thought  and  word  and  deed. 

86 


THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN  87 

Second,  prayer  rests  upon  a  belief  in  God;  com- 
munion with  the  Creator  in  the  expression  of  gratitude 
and  in  pleas  for  guidance  powerfully  influences  man. 

Third,  belief  in  a  personal  immortality  rests  upon 
faith  in  God;  the  inward  restraint  that  one  finds  in  a 
faith  that  looks  forward  to  a  future  life  with  its  re- 
wards and  punishments,  makes  outward  restraint  less 
necessary.  Man  is  weak  enough  in  hours  of  tempta- 
tion, even  when  he  is  fortified  by  the  conviction  that 
this  life  is  but  a  small  arc  of  an  infinite  circle;  his 
power  of  resistance  is  greatly  impaired  if  he  accepts 
the  doctrine  that  conscious  existence  terminates  with 
death. 

Fourth,  the  spirit  of  brotherhood  rests  on  a  belief 
in  God.  We  trace  our  relationship  to  our  fellowmen 
through  the  Creator,  the  Common  Parent  of  us  all. 

Fifth,  belief  in  the  Bible  depends  upon  a  belief  in 
God.  Jehovah  comes  first;  His  word  comes  after- 
ward. There  can  be  no  inspiration  without  a  Heavenly 
Father  to  inspire. 

Sixth,  belief  in  God  is  also  necessary  to  a  belief  in 
Christ;  the  Son  could  not  have  revealed  the  Father 
to  man  according  to  any  atheistc  theory.  And  so  with 
all  other  Christian  doctrines:  they  rest  upon  a  belief 
in  God. 

H  belief  in  God  is  necessary  to  the  beliefs  enumer- 
ated, then  it  follows  logically  that  anything  that  weak- 
ens belief  in  God  weakens  man,  and,  to  the  extent  that 
it  impairs  belief  in  God,  reduces  his  power  to  measure 
up  to  his  opportunities  and  responsibilities.  H  there 
is  at  work  in  the  world  to-day  anything  that  tends  to 


88  THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN 

break  this  mainspring,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  moral,  as 
well  as  the  Christian,  world  to  combat  this  influence 
in  every  possible  way. 

I  believe  there  is  such  a  menace  to  fundamental 
morality.  The  hypothesis  to  which  the  name  of  Dar- 
win has  been  given — the  hypothesis  that  links  man  to 
the  lower  forms  of  life  and  makes  him  a  lineal  de- 
scendant of  the  brute — is  obscuring  God  and  weaken- 
ing all  the  virtues  that  rest  upon  the  religious  tie  be- 
tween God  and  man.  Passing  over,  for  the  present, 
all  other  phases  of  evolution  and  considering  only  that 
part  of  the  system  which  robs  man  of  the  dignity  con- 
ferred upon  him  by  separate  creation,  when  God 
breathed  into  him  the  breath  of  life  and  he  became  the 
first  man,  I  venture  to  call  attention  to  the  demoraliz- 
ing influence  exerted  by  this  doctrine. 

If  we  accept  the  Bible  as  true  we  have  no  difficulty 
in  determining  the  origin  of  man.  In  the  first  chap- 
ter of  Genesis  we  read  that  God,  after  creating  all 
other  things,  said,  "  Let  us  make  man  in  our  image, 
after  our  likeness ;  and  let  him  have  dominion  over  the 
fish  of  the  sea,  and  over  the  fowl  of  the  air,  and  over 
the  cattle,  and  over  all  the  earth,  and  over  every  creep- 
ing thing  that  creepeth  upon  the  earth.  So  God  cre- 
ated man  in  his  own  image,  in  the  image  of  God  cre- 
ated he  him ;  male  and  female  created  he  them." 

The  materialist  has  always  rejected  the  Bible  ac- 
count of  Creation  and,  during  the  last  half  century, 
the  Darwinian  doctrine  has  been  the  means  of  shaking 
the  faith  of  millions.  It  is  important  that  man  should 
have  a  correct  understanding  of  his  line  of  descent 


THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN  89 

Huxley  calls  it  the  "  question  of  questions  "  for  man- 
kind. He  says:  ''  The  problem  which  underlies  all 
others,  and  is  more  interesting  than  any  other — is  the 
ascertainment  of  the  place  which  man  occupies  in  na- 
ture and  of  his  relation  to  the  universe  of  things. 
Whence  our  race  has  come,  what  are  the  limits  of  our 
power  over  nature,  and  of  nature's  power  over  us,  to 
what  goal  are  we  tending,  are  the  problems  which  pre- 
sent themselves  anew  with  undiminished  interest  to 
every  man  born  in  the  w^orld." 

The  materialists  deny  the  existence  of  God  and  seeV 
to  explain  man's  presence  upon  the  earth  without  a 
creative  act.  They  go  back  from  man  to  the  animals, 
and  from  one  form  of  life  to  another  until  they  come 
to  the  first  germ  of  life;  there  they  divide  into  two 
schools,  some  believing  that  the  first  germ  of  life  came 
from  another  planet,  others  holding  that  it  was  the 
result  of  spontaneous  generation.  One  school  answers 
the  arguments  advanced  by  the  other  and,  as  they  can- 
not agree  with  each  other,  I  am  not  compelled  to  agree 
with  either. 

H  it  were  necessary  to  accept  one  of  these  theories 
I  would  prefer  the  first ;  for,  if  we  can  chase  the  germ 
of  life  off  of  this  planet  and  out  into  space,  we  can 
guess  the  rest  of  the  way  and  no  one  can  contradict 
us.  But,  if  we  accept  the  doctrine  of  spontaneous  gen- 
eration wt  will  have  to  spend  our  time  explaining  why 
spontaneous  generation  ceased  to  act  after  the  first 
germ  of  life  was  created.  It  is  not  necessary  to  pay 
much  attention  to  any  theory  that  boldly  eliminates 
God ;  it  does  not  deceive  many.    The  mind  revolts  at 


90  THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN 

the  idea  of  spontaneous  generation ;  in  all  the  researches 
of  the  ages  no  scientist  has  found  a  single  instance  of 
life  that  was  not  begotten  by  life.  The  materialist  has 
nothing  but  imagination  to  build  upon;  he  cannot  hope 
for  company  or  encouragement. 

But  the  Darwinian  doctrine  is  more  dangerous  be- 
cause more  deceptive.  It  permits  one  to  believe  in  a 
God,  but  puts  the  creative  act  so  far  away  that  rever- 
ence for  the  Creator — even  belief  in  Him — is  likely  to 
be  lost. 

Before  commenting  on  the  Darwinian  hypothesis 
let  me  refer  you  to  the  language  of  its  author  as  it 
applies  to  man.  On  page  180  of  ''  Descent  of  Man  " 
(Hurst  &  Company,  Edition  1874),  Darwin  says: 
"  Our  most  ancient  progenitors  in  the  kingdom 
of  the  Vertebrata,  at  which  we  are  able  to  obtain 
an  obscure  glance,  apparently  consisted  of  a  group 
of  marine  animals,  resembling  the  larvse  of  the 
existing  Ascidians."  Then  he  suggests  a  line  of  de- 
scent leading  to  the  monkey.  And  he  does  not  even 
permit  us  to  indulge  in  a  patriotic  pride  of  ancestry; 
instead  of  letting  us  descend  from  American  monkeys, 
he  connects  us  with  the  European  branch  of  the  mon- 
key family. 

It  will  be  noted,  first,  that  he  begins  the  summary 
with  the  word  "  apparently,*'  which  the  Standard  Dic- 
tionary defines:  "as  judged  by  appearances,  without 
passing  upon  its  reality."  His  second  sentence  (fol- 
lowing the  sentence  quoted)  turns  upon  the  word 
"  probably,"  which  is  defined:  "  as  far  as  the  evidence 
shows,  presumably,  likely."     His  works  are  full  of 


THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN  91 

words  indicating  uncertainty.  The  phrase  "  we  may 
well  suppose/'  occurs  over  eight  hundred  times  in  his 
two  principal  works.  (See  Herald  &  Presbyter, 
November  23,  1914.)  The  eminent  scientist  is  guess- 
ing. 

After  locating  our  gorilla  and  chimpanzee  ancestors 
in  Africa,  he  concludes  that  "  it  is  useless  to  speculate 
on  this  subject."  If  the  uselessness  of  speculation  had 
occurred  to  him  at  the  beginning  of  his  investigation 
he  might  have  escaped  responsibility  for  shaking  the 
faith  of  two  generations  by  his  guessing  on  the  whole 
subject  of  biology. 

If  we  could  divide  the  human  race  into  two  distinct 
groups  we  might  allow  evolutionists  to  worship  brutes 
as  ancestors  but  they  insist  on  connecting  all  mankind 
with  the  jungle.  We  have  a  right  to  protect  our  fam- 
ily tree. 

Having  given  Darwin's  conclusions  as  to  man's  an- 
cestry, I  shall  quote  him  to  prove  that  his  hypothesis  is 
not  only  groundless,  but  absurd  and  harmful  to  so- 
ciety. It  is  groundless  because  there  is  not  a  single  fact 
in  the  universe  that  can  be  cited  to  prove  that  man  is 
descended  from  the  lower  animals.  Darwin  does  not 
use  facts ;  he  uses  conclusions  drawn  from  similarities. 
He  builds  upon  presumptions,  probabilities  and  infer- 
ences, and  asks  the  acceptance  of  his  hypothesis  "  not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  connecting  links  have  not 
hitherto  been  discovered"  (page  162).  He  advances 
an  hypothesis  which,  If  true,  would  find  support  on 
every  foot  of  the  earth's  surface,  but  which,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  fact,  finds  support  nowhere.    There  are  myriads 


92  THE  ORIGIN  OF  MAN 

of  living  creatures  about  us,  from  insects  too  small 
to  be  seen  with  the  naked  eye  to  the  largest  mammals, 
and,  yet,  not  one  is  in  transition  from  one  species  to 
another;  every  one  is  perfect.  It  is  strange  that 
slight  similarities  could  make  him  ignore  gigantic  dif- 
ferences. The  remains  of  nearly  one  hundred  species 
of  vertebrate  life  have  been  found  in  the  rocks,  of 
v^hich  more  than  one-half  are  found  living  to-day,  and 
none  of  the  survivors  show  material  change.  The 
word  hypothesis  is  a  synonym  used  by  scientists  for 
the  word  guess ;  it  is  more  dignified  in  sound  and  more 
imposing  to  the  sight,  but  it  has  the  same  meaning  as 
the  old-fashioned,  every-day  word,  guess.  If  Darwin 
had  described  his  doctrine  as  a  guess  instead  of  calling 
it  an  hypothesis,  it  would  not  have  lived  a  year.' 

Probably  nothing  impresses  Darwin  more  than  the 
fact  that  at  an  early  stage  the  foetus  of  a  child  cannot 
be  distinguished  from  the  foetus  of  an  ape,  but  why 

'Dr.  Etheridge,  Fossiologist  of  the  British  Museum,  says: 
"  Nine-tenths  of  the  talk  of  Evolutionists  is  sheer  nonsense,  not 
founded  on  observation  and  wholly  unsupported  by  facts.  This 
museum  is  full  of  proofs  of  the  utter  falsity  of  their  views." 

Prof.  Beale,  of  King's  College,  London,  says :  "  In  support  of 
all  naturalistic  conjectures  concerning  man's  origin,  there  is  not 
at  this  time  a  shadow  of  scientific  evidence." 

Prof.  Fleischmann,  of  Erlangen,  says :  "  The  Darwinian  theory 
has  in  the  realms  of  Nature  not  a  single  fact  to  confirm  it.  It  is 
not  the  result  of  scientific  research,  but  purely  the  product  of 
the  imagination." 

The  January  issue  of  "  Science,"  1922,  contains  a  speech  de- 
livered at  Toronto  last  December  by  Prof.  William  Bateson  of 
London  before  the  American  Association  for  the  Advancement 
of  Science.  He  says  that  science  has  faith  in  evolution  but 
doubts  as  to  the  origin  of  species. 


THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN  93 

should  such  a  similarity  in  the  beginning  impress  him 
more  than  the  difference  at  birth  and  the  immeasurable 
gulf  between  the  two  at  forty?  If  science  cannot  de- 
tect a  difference,  known  to  exist,  between  the  foetus 
of  an  ape  and  the  foetus  of  a  child,  it  should  not 
ask  us  to  substitute  the  inferences,  the  presump- 
tions and  the  probabilities  of  science  for  the  word  of 
God. 

Science  has  rendered  invaluable  service  to  society; 
her  achievements  are  innumerable — and  the  hypotheses 
of  scientists  should  be  considered  with  an  open  mind. 
Their  theories  should  be  carefully  examined  and  their 
arguments  fairly  weighed,  but  the  scientist  cannot 
compel  acceptance  of  any  argument  he  advances,  ex- 
cept as,  judged  upon  its  merits,  it  is  convincing.  Man 
is  infinitely  more  than  science;  science,  as  well  as  the 
Sabbath,  was  made  for  man.  It  must  be  remembered, 
also,  that  all  sciences  are  not  of  equal  importance. 
Tolstoy  insists  that  the  science  of  "  How  to  Live  "  is 
more  important  than  any  other  science,  and  is  this  not 
true  ?  It  is  better  to  trust  in  the  Rock  of  Ages,  than  to 
know  the  age  of  the  rocks ;  it  is  better  for  one  to  know 
that  he  is  close  to  the  Heavenly  Father,  than  to  know 
how  far  the  stars  in  the  heavens  are  apart.  And  is  it 
not  just  as  important  that  the  scientists  who  deal  with 
matter  should  respect  the  scientists  who  deal  with 
spiritual  things,  as  that  the  latter  should  respect  the 
former?  If  it  be  true,  as  Paul  declares,  that  "  the 
things  that  are  seen  are  temporal "  while  "  the  things 
that  are  unseen  are  eternal,"  why  should  those  who 
deal  with  temporal  things  think  themselves  superior  to 


94  THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN 

those  who  deal  with  the  things  that  are  eternal?  Why 
should  the  Bible,  which  the  centuries  have  not  been 
able  to  shake,  be  discarded  for  scientific  works  that 
have  to  be  revised  and  corrected  every  few  years? 
The  preference  should  be  given  to  the  Bible. 

The  two  lines  of  work  are  parallel.  There  should 
be  no  conflict  between  the  discoverers  of  real  truths, 
because  real  truths  do  not  conflict.  Every  truth  har- 
monizes with  every  other  truth,  but  why  should  an 
hypothesis,  suggested  by  a  scientist,  be  accepted  as  true 
until  its  truth  is  established?  Science  should  be  the 
last  to  make  such  a  demand  because  science  to  be  truly 
science  is  classified  knowledge ;  it  is  the  explanation  of 
facts.  Tested  by  this  definition,  Darwinism  is  not 
science  at  all;  it  is  guesses  strung  together.  There  is 
more  science  in  the  twenty-fourth  verse  of  the  first 
chapter  of  Genesis  (And  God  said,  let  the  earth  bring 
forth  the  living  creature  after  his  kind,  cattle  and 
creeping  things,  and  beast  of  the  earth  after  his  kind ; 
and  it  was  so. )  than  in  all  that  Darwin  wrote. 

It  Is  no  light  matter  to  Impeach  the  veracity  of  the 
Scriptures  In  order  to  accept,  not  a  truth — ^not  even  a 
theory — ^but  a  mere  hypothesis.  Professor  Huxley 
says,  "  There  is  no  fault  to  be  found  with  Darwin's 
method,  but  It  Is  another  thing  whether  he  has  fulfilled 
all  the  conditions  Imposed  by  that  method.  Is  it  satis- 
factorily proved  that  species  may  be  originated  by  st- 
lectlon?  That  none  of  the  phenomena  exhibited  by  the 
species  are  inconsistent  with  the  origin  of  the  species 
m  this  way?  If  these  questions  can  be  answered  In 
the  affirmative,  Mr.  Darwin's  view  steps  out  of  the 


THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN  96 

ranks  of  hypothesis  into  that  of  theories;  but  so  long 
as  the  evidence  adduced  falls  short  of  enforcing  that 
affirmative,  so  long,  to  our  minds,  the  new  doctrine 
must  be  content  to  remain  among  the  former — an  ex- 
tremely valuable,  and  in  the  highest  degree  probable, 
doctrine;  indeed  the  only  extant  hypothesis  which  is 
worth  anything  in  a  scientific  point  of  view ;  but  still  ^ 
hypothesis,  and  not  a  theory  of  species."  *'  After 
much  consideration,"  he  adds,  "  and  assuredly  with  no 
bias  against  Darwin's  views,  it  is  our  clear  conviction 
that,  as  the  evidence  now  stands,  it  is  not  absolutely 
proven  that  a  group  of  animals,  having  all  the  charac- 
ters exhibited  by  species  in  nature,  has  ever  been  origi- 
nated by  selection,  whether  artificial  or  natural." 

But  Darwin  is  absurd  as  well  as  groundless.  He 
announces  two  laws,  which,  in  his  judgment,  explain 
the  development  of  man  from  the  lowest  form  of  ani- 
mal life,  VIZ.,  natural  selection  and  sexual  selection. 
The  latter  has  been  abandoned  by  the  modern  believers 
in  evolution,  but  two  illustrations,  taken  from  Dar- 
win's "  Descent  of  Man,"  will  show  his  unreliability  as 
a  guide  to  the  young.  On  page  587  of  the  1874  edition, 
he  tries  to  explain  man's  superior  mental  strength  (a 
proposition  more  difficult  to  defend  to-day  than  in 
Darwin's  time).  His  theory  Is  that,  "  the  struggle  be- 
tween the  males  for  the  possession  of  the  females  '* 
helped  to  develop  the  male  mind  and  that  this  superior 
strength  was  transmitted  by  males  to  their  male  off- 
spring. 

After  having  shown,  to  his  own  satisfaction,  how 
sexual  selection  would  account  for  the   (supposed) 


96  THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN 

greater  strength  of  the  male  mind,  he  turns  his  atten- 
tion to  another  question,  namely,  how  did  man  become 
a  hairless  animal  ?  This  he  accounts  for  also  by  sex- 
ual selection — the  females  preferred  the  males  with  the 
least  hair  (page  634).  In  a  footnote  on  page  625  he 
says  that  this  view  has  been  harshly  criticized. 
"  Hardly  any  view  advanced  in  this  work,"  he  says, 
"  has  met  with  so  much  disfavour."  A  comment  and 
a  question:  First,  Unless  the  brute  females  were  very 
different  from  the  females  as  we  know  them,  they 
would  not  have  agreed  in  taste.  Some  would  "  prob- 
ably "  have  preferred  males  with  less  hair,  others,  "  we 
may  well  suppose,"  would  have  preferred  males  with 
more  hair.  Those  with  more  hair  would  naturally  be 
the  stronger  because  better  able  to  resist  the  weather. 
But,  second,  how  could  the  males  have  strengthened 
their  minds  by  fighting  for  the  females  if,  at  the  same 
time,  the  females  were  breeding  the  hair  off  by  select- 
ing the  males?  Or,  did  the  males  select  for  three 
years  and  then  allow  the  females  to  do  the  selecting 
during  leap  year  ? 

But,  worse  yet,  in  a  later  edition  published  by  L.  A. 
Burt  Company,  a  "  supplemental  note "  is  added  to 
discuss  two  letters  which  he  thought  supported  the  idea 
that  sexual  selection  transformed  the  hairy  animal  into 
the  hairless  man.  Darwin's  correspondent  (page  710) 
reports  that  a  mandril  seemed  to  be  proud  of  a  bare 
spot.  Can  anything  be  less  scientific  than  trying  to 
guess  what  an  animal  is  thinking  about?  It  would 
seem  that  this  also  was  a  subject  about  which  it  was 
"  useless  to  speculate." 


THE  OEIGIN  OP  MAN  97 

While  on  this  subject  it  may  be  worth  while  to  call 
your  attention  to  other  fantastic  imaginings  of  which 
those  are  guilty  who  reject  the  Bible  and  enter  the  field 
of  speculation — fiction  surpassing  anything  to  be 
found  in  the  Arabian  Nights.  If  one  accepts  the 
Scriptural  account  of  the  creation,  he  can  credit  God 
with  the  working  of  miracles  and  with  the  doing  of 
many  things  that  man  cannot  understand.  The  evolu- 
tionist, however,  having  substituted  what  he  imagines 
to  be  a  universal  law  for  separate  acts  of  creation  must 
explain  everything.  The  evolutionst,  not  to  go  back 
farther  than  life  just  now,  begins  with  one  or  a  few 
invisible  germs  of  life  on  the  planet  and  imagines  that 
these  invisible  germs  have,  by  the  operation  of  what 
they  call  "resident  forces,"  unaided  from  without,  de- 
veloped into  all  that  we  see  to-day.  They  cannot  in  a 
lifetime  explain  the  things  that  have  to  be  explained,  if 
their  hypothesis  is  accepted — a  useless  waste  of  time 
even  if  explanation  were  possible. 

Take  the  eye,  for  instance;  believing  in  the  Mosaic^ 
account,  I  believe  that  God  made  the  eyes  when  He 
made  man — not  only  made  the  eyes  but  carved  out  the 
caverns  In  the  skull  in  which  they  hang.  It  Is  easy  for 
the  believer  in  the  Bible  to  explain  the  eyes,  because  he 
believes  In  a  God  who  can  do  all  things  and,  according 
to  the  Bible,  did  create  man  as  a  part  of  a  divine  plan. 

But  how  does  the  evolutionist  explain  the  eye  when 
he  leaves  God  out?  Here  is  the  only  guess  that  I  have 
seen — if  you  find  any  others  I  shall  be  glad  to  know  of 
them,  as  I  am  collecting  the  guesses  of  the  evolution- 
ists.   The  evolutionist  guesses  that  there  was  a  time 


98  THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN 

when  eyes  were  unknown — that  is  a  necessary  part  of 
the  hypothesis.  And  since  the  eye  is  a  universal  pos- 
session among  living  things  the  evolutionist  guesses 
that  it  came  into  being — not  by  design  or  by  act  of  God 
— but  just  happened,  and  how  did  it  happen?  I  will 
give  you  the  guess — a  piece  of  pigment,  or,  as  some 
say,  a  freckle  appeared  upon  the  skin  of  an  animal  that 
had  no  eyes.  This  piece  of  pigment  or  freckle  con- 
verged the  rays  of  the  sun  upon  that  spot  and  when  the 
little  animal  felt  the  heat  on  that  spot  it  turned  the  spot 
to  the  sun  to  get  more  heat.  The  increased  heat  irri- 
tated the  skin — so  the  evolutionists  guess,  and  a  nerve 
came  there  and  out  of  the  nerve  came  the  eye!  Can 
you  beat  it  ?  But  this  only  accounts  for  one  eye ;  there 
must  have  been  another  piece  of  pigment  or  freckle 
soon  afterward  and  just  in  the  right  place  in  order  to 
give  the  animal  two  eyes. 

And,  according  to  the  evolutionist,  there  was  a  time 
when  animals  had  no  legs,  and  so  the  leg  came  by  acci- 
dent. How?  Well,  the  guess  is  that  a  little  animal 
without  legs  was  wiggling  along  on  its  belly  one  day 
when  it  discovered  a  wart — it  just  happened  so — and 
it  was  in  the  right  place  to  be  used  to  aid  it  in  locomo- 
tion; so,  it  came  to  depend  upon  the  wart,  and  use 
finally  developed  it  into  a  leg.  And  then  another  wart 
and  another  leg,  at  the  proper  time — by  accident — and 
accidentally  in  the  proper  place.  Is  it  not  astonishing 
that  any  person  intelligent  enough  to  teach  school 
would  talk  such  tommyrot  to  students  and  look  serious 
while  doing  so? 

And  yet  I  read  only  a  few  weeks  ago,  on  page  124 


THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN  99 

of  a  little  book  recently  issued  by  a  prominent  New- 
York  minister,  the  following: 

"  Man  has  grown  up  in  this  universe  gradually  de- 
veloping his  powers  and  functions  as  responses  to  his 
environment.  If  he  has  eyes,  so  the  biologists  assure 
us,  it  is  because  light  waves  played  upon  the  skin  and 
eyes  came  out  in  answer;  if  he  has  ears  it  is  because 
the  air  waves  were  there  first  and  the  ears  came  out  to 
hear.  Man  never  yet,  according  to  the  evolutionist, 
has  developed  any  power  save  as  a  reality  called  it  into 
being.  There  would  be  no  fins  if  there  were  no  water, 
no  wings  if  there  were  no  air,  no  legs  if  there  were  no 
land." 

You  see  I  only  called  your  attention  to  forty  per  cent, 
of  the  absurdities ;  he  speaks  of  eyes,  ears,  fins,  wings 
and  legs — five.  I  only  called  attention  to  eyes  and 
legs — two.  The  evolutionist  guesses  himself  away 
from  God,  but  he  only  makes  matters  worse.  How 
long  did  the  "  light  waves  "  have  to  play  on  the  skin 
before  the  eyes  came  out?  The  evolutionist  is  very 
deliberate;  he  is  long  on  time.  He  would  certainly 
give  the  eye  thousands  of  years,  if  not  millions,  in 
which  to  develop;  but  how  could  he  be  sure  that  the 
light  waves  played  all  the  time  in  one  place  or  played 
in  the  same  place  generation  after  generation  until  the 
development  was  complete?  And  why  did  the  light 
waves  quit  playing  when  two  eyes  were  perfected? 
Why  did  they  not  keep  on  playing  until  there  were  eyes 
all  over  the  body?  Why  do  they  not  play  to-day,  so 
that  we  may  see  eyes  in  process  of  development  ?  And 
if  the  light  waves  created  the  eyes,  why  did  they  not 


100  THE  ORIGIN  OF  MAN 

create  them  strong  enough  to  bear  the  light?  Why 
did  the  light  waves  make  eyes  and  then  make  eyelids 
to  keep  the  light  out  of  the  eyes? 

And  so  with  the  ears.  They  must  have  gone  in  "  to 
hear  "  instead  of  out,  and  wasn't  it  lucky  that  they  hap- 
pened to  go  in  on  opposite  sides  of  the  head  instead  of 
eater-cornered  or  at  random?  Is  it  not  easier  to  be- 
lieve in  a  God  who  can  make  the  eye,  the  ear,  the  fin, 
the  wing,  and  the  leg,  as  well  as  the  light,  the  sound, 
the  air,  the  water  and  the  land? 

There  is  such  an  abundance  of  ludicrous  material 
that  it  is  hard  to  resist  the  temptation  to  continue  illus- 
trations indefinitely,  but  a  few  more  will  be  sufficient. 
In  order  that  you  may  be  prepared  to  ridicule  these 
pseudo-scientists  who  come  to  you  with  guesses  instead 
of  facts,  let  me  give  you  three  recent  bits  of  evolution- 
ary lore. 

Last  November  I  was  passing  through  Philadelphia 
and  read  in  an  afternoon  paper  a  report  of  an  address 
delivered  in  that  city  by  a  college  professor  employed 
in  extension  work.  Here  is  an  extract  from  the 
paper's  account  of  the  speech:  "Evidence  that  early 
men  climbed  trees  with  their  feet  lies  in  the  way  we 
wear  the  heels  of  our  shoes — more  at  the  outside.  A 
baby  can  wiggle  its  big  toe  without  wiggling  its  other 
toes — an  indication  that  it  once  used  its  big  toe  in 
climbing  trees."  What  a  consolation  it  must  be  to 
mothers  to  know  that  the  baby  is  not  to  be  blamed  for 
wiggling  the  big  toe  without  wiggling  the  other  toes. 
It  cannot  help  it,  poor  little  thing;  it  is  an  inheritance 
from  "  the  tree  man,"  so  the  evolutionists  tell  us. 


THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN  101 

And  here  Is  another  extract:  "  We  often  dream  of 
falling.  Those  who  fell  out  of  the  trees  some  fifty 
thousand  years  ago  and  were  killed,  of  course,  had  no 
descendants.  So  those  who  fell  and  were  7tot  hurt,  of 
course,  lived,  and  so  we  are  never  hurt  in  our  dreams 
of  falling."  Of  course,  if  we  were  actually  descended 
from  the  inhabitants  of  trees,  it  would  seem  quite 
likely  that  we  descended  from  those  that  were  not 
killed  in  falling.  But  they  must  have  been  badly 
frightened  if  the  impression  made  upon  their  feeble 
minds  could  have  lasted  for  fifty  thousand  years  and 
still  be  vivid'  enough  to  scare  us. 

If  the  Bible  said  anything  so  idiotic  as  these  guessers 
put  forth  in  the  name  of  science,  scientists  would  have 
a  great  time  ridiculing  the  sacred  pages,  but  men  who 
scoff  at  the  recorded  interpretation  of  dreams  by  Jo- 
seph and  Daniel  seem  to  be  able  to  swallow  the  amus- 
ing interpretations  offered  by  the  Pennsylvania  pro- 
fessor. 

A  few  months  ago  the  Sunday  School  Times  quoted 
a  professor  in  an  Illinois  University  as  saying  that  the 
great  day  in  history  was  the  day  when  a  water  puppy 
crawled  up  on  the  land  and,  deciding  to  be  a  land 
animal,  became  man's  progenitor.  If  these  scientific 
speculators  can  agree  upon  the  day  they  will  probably 
insist  on  our  abandoning  Washington's  birthday,  the 
Fourth  of  July,  and  even  Christmas,  in  order  to  join 
with  the  whole  world  in  celebrating  "  Water  Puppy 
Day." 

Within  the  last  few  weeks  the  papers  published  a 
dispatch  from  Paris  to  the  effect  that  an  "  eminent 


102  THE  ORIGIN  OF  MAN 

scientist "  announced  that  he  had  communicated  with 
the  spirit  of  a  dog  and  learned  from  the  dog  that  it 
was  happy.     Must  we  beheve  this,  too  ? 

But  is  the  law  of  ''  natural  selection "  a  sufficient 
explanation,  or  a  more  satisfactory  explanation,  than 
sexual  selection  ?  It  is  based  on  the  theory  that  where 
there  is  an  advantage  in  any  characteristic,  animals 
that  possess  this  characteristic  survive  and  propagate 
their  kind.  This,  according  to  Darwin's  argument, 
leads  to  progress  through  the  "  survival  of  the  fittest." 
This  law  or  principle  (natural  selection),  so  carefully 
worked  out  by  Darwin,  is  being  given  less  and  less 
weight  by  scientists.  Darwin  himself  admits  that  he 
''  perhaps  attributed  too  much  to  the  action  of  natural 
selection  and  the  survival  of  the  fittest"  (page  76). 
John  Burroughs,  the  naturalist,  rejects  it  in  a  recent 
magazine  article.  The  followers  of  Darwin  are  trying 
to  retain  evolution  while  rejecting  the  arguments  that 
led  Darwin  to  accept  it  as  an  explanation  of  the  varied 
life  on  the  planet.  Some  evolutionists  reject  Darwin's 
line  of  descent  and  believe  that  man,  instead  of  coming 
from  the  ape,  branched  off  from  a  common  ancestor 
farther  back,  but  "  cousin  **  ape  is  as  objectionable  as 
"  grandpa  "  ape. 

While  "  survival  of  the  fittest "  may  seem  plausible 
when  applied  to  individuals  of  the  same  species,  it  af- 
fords no  explanation  whatever,  of  the  almost  infinite 
number  of  creatures  that  have  come  under  man's  ob- 
servation. To  believe  that  natural  selection,  sexual 
selection  or  any  other  kind  of  selection  can  account  for 
the  countless  differences  we  see  about  us  requires  more 


THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN  103 

faith  in  chance  than  a  Christian  is  required  to  have  in 
God. 

Is  it  conceivable  that  the  hawk  and  the  humming- 
bird, the  spider  and  the  honey  bee,  the  turkey  gobbler 
and  the  mocking-bird,  the  butterfly  and  the  eagle,  the 
ostrich  and  the  wren,  the  tree  toad  and  the  elephant, 
the  giraffe  and  the  kangaroo,  the  wolf  and  the  lamb 
should  all  be  the  descendants  of  a  common  ancestor? 
Yet  these  and  all  other  creatures  must  be  blood  rela- 
tives if  man  is  next  of  kin  to  the  monkey. 

If  the  evolutionists  are  correct;  if  it  is  true  that  all 
that  we  see  is  the  result  of  development  from  one  or 
a  few  invisible  germs  of  life,  then,  in  plants  as  well  as 
in  animals  there  must  be  a  line  of  descent  connecting 
all  the  trees  and  vegetables  and  flowers  with  a  common 
ancestry.  Does  it  not  strain  the  imagination  to  the 
breaking  point  to  believe  that  the  oak,  the  cedar,  the 
pine  and  the  palm  are  all  the  progeny  of  one  ancient 
seed  and  that  this  seed  was  also  the  ancestor  of  wheat 
and  corn,  potato  and  tomato,  onion  and  sugar  beet, 
rose  and  violet,  orchid  and  daisy,  mountain  flower  and 
magnolia?  Is  it  not  more  rational  to  believe  in  God 
and  explain  the  varieties  of  life  in  terms  of  divine 
power  than  to  waste  our  lives  in  ridiculous  attempts  to 
explain  the  unexplainable  ?  There  is  no  mortification 
in  admitting  that  there  are  insoluble  mysteries;  but  it 
is  shameful  to  spend  the  time  that  God  has  given  for 
nobler  use  in  vain  attempts  to  exclude  God  from  His 
own  universe  and  to  find  in  chance  a  substitute  for 
God's  pow-er  and  wisdom  and  love. 

While  evolution  in  plant  life  and  in  animal  life  up  to 


104  THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN 

the  highest  form  of  animal  might,  if  there  were  proof 
of  it,  be  admitted  without  raising  a  presumption  that 
would  compel  us  to  give  a  brute  origin  to  man,  why 
should  we  admit  a  thing  of  which  there  is  no  proof? 
Why  should  we  encourage  the  guesses  of  these  specu- 
lators and  thus  weaken  our  power  to  protest  when  they 
attempt  the  leap  from  the  monkey  to  man?  Let  the 
evolutionist  furnish  his  proof. 

Although  our  chief  concern  is  in  protecting  man 
from  the  demoralization  involved  in  accepting  a  brute 
ancestry,  it  is  better  to  put  the  advocates  of  evolution 
upon  the  defensive  and  challenge  them  to  produce 
proof  in  support  of  their  hypothesis  in  plant  life  and 
in  the  animal  world.  They  will  be  kept  so  busy  trying 
to  find  support  for  their  hypothesis  in  the  kingdoms 
below  man  that  they  will  have  little  time  left  to  combat 
the  Word  of  God  in  respect  to  man's  origin.  Evolu- 
tion joins  issue  with  the  Mosaic  account  of  creation. 
God's  law,  as  stated  in  Genesis,  is  reproduction  accord- 
ing to  kind;  evolution  implies  reproduction  not  accord- 
ing to  kind.  While  the  process  of  change  implied  in 
evolution  is  covered  up  in  endless  eons  of  time  it  is 
change  nevertheless.  The  Bible  does  not  say  that  re- 
production shall  be  nearly  according  to  kind  or  seem- 
ingly according  to  kind.  The  statement  is  positive 
that  it  is  according  to  kind,  and  that  does  not  leave  any 
room  for  the  changes  however  gradual  or  impercep- 
tible that  are  necessary  to  support  the  evolutionary 
hypothesis. 

We  see  about  us  everywhere  and  always  proof  of 
the  Bible  law,  viz.,  reproduction  according  to  kind ;  we 


THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN  105 

find  nothing  in  the  universe  to  support  Darwin's  doc- 
trine of  reproducton  other  than  of  kind. 

If  you  question  the  possibility  of  such  changes  as 
the  Darwinian  doctrine  supposes  you  are  reminded  that 
the  scientific  speculators  have  raised  the  time  limit. 
"If  ten  million  years  are  not  sufficient,  take  twenty," 
they  say:  "  If  fifty  million  years  are  not  enough  take 
one  or  two  hundred  millions."  That  accuracy  is  not 
essential  in  such  guessing  may  be  inferred  from  the 
fact  that  the  estimates  of  the  time  that  has  elapsed 
since  life  began  on  the  earth,  vary  from  less  than 
twenty-five  million  years  to  more  than  three  hundred 
million.  Darwin  estimated  this  period  at  two  hundred 
million  years  while  Darwin's  son  estimated  it  at  fifty- 
seven  million. 

It  requires  more  than  millions  of  years  to  account 
for  the  varieties  of  life  that  inhabit  the  earth;  it  re- 
quires a  Creator,  unlimited  in  power,  unlimited  intelli- 
gence, and  unlimited  love. 

But  the  doctrine  of  evolution  is  sometimes  carried 
farther  than  that.  A  short  while  ago  Canon  Barnes, 
of  Westminster  Abbey,  startled  his  congregation  by  an 
interpretation  of  evolution  that  ran  like  this:  "  It  now 
seems  highly  probable  (probability  again)  that  from 
some  fundamental  stuff  in  the  universe  the  electrons 
arose.  From  them  came  matter.  From  matter,  life 
emerged.  From  life  came  mind.  From  mind,  spiri- 
tual consciousness  was  developing.  There  was  a  time 
when  matter,  life  and  mind,  and  the  soul  of  man  were 
not,  but  now  they  are.  Each  has  arisen  as  a  part  of 
the  vast  scheme  planned  by  God/'     (An  American 


106  THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAK 

professor  in  a  Christian  college  has  recently  expressed 
himself  along  substantially  the  same  lines.) 

But  what  has  God  been  doing  since  the  **  stuff  "  be- 
gan to  develop?  The  verbs  used  by  Canon  Barnes 
indicate  an  internal  development  unaided  from  above. 
"Arose,  came,  emerged,  etc.,"  all  exclude  the  idea  that 
God  is  within  reach  or  call  in  man's  extremity. 

When  I  was  a  boy  in  college  the  materialists  began 
with  matter  separated  into  infinitely  small  particles  and 
every  particle  separated  from  every  other  particle  by 
distance  infinitely  great.  But  now  they  say  that  it 
takes  1,Y40  electrons  to  make  an  atom  of  infinite  fine- 
ness. God,  they  insist,  has  not  had  anything  to  do 
with  this  universe  since  1,740  electrons  formed  a 
chorus  and  sang,  ''  We'll  be  an  atom  by  and  by." 

It  requires  measureless  credulity  to  enable  one  to 
believe  that  all  that  we  see  about  us  came  by  chance, 
by  a  series  of  happy-go-lucky  accidents.  If  only  an 
infinite  God  could  have  formed  hydrogen  and  oxygen 
and  united  them  in  just  the  right  proportions  to  pro- 
duce water — the  daily  need  of  every  living  thing — 
scattered  among  the  flowers  all  the  colours  of  the  rain- 
bow and  every  variety  of  perfume,  adjusted  the  mock- 
ing-bird's throat  to  its  musical  scale,  and  fashioned  a 
soul  for  man,  why  should  we  want  to  imprison  such  a 
God  in  an  impenetrable  past?  This  is  a  living  world; 
why  not  a  living  God  upon  the  throne?  Why  not 
allow  Him  to  work  now? 

Darwin  is  so  sure  that  his  theory  is  correct  that  he 
IS  ready  to  accuse  the  Creator  of  trying  to  deceive  man 
if  the  theory  is  not  sound.     On  page  41  he  says:  "  To 


THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN  107 

take  any  other  view  is  to  admit  that  our  structure  and 
that  of  all  animals  about  us,  is  a  mere  snare  to  entrap 
our  judgment;"  as  if  the  Almighty  were  in  duty 
bound  to  make  each  species  so  separate  from  every 
other  that  no  one  could  possibly  be  confused  by  resem- 
blances. There  would  seem  to  be  differences  enough. 
To  put  man  in  a  class  with  the  chimpanzee  because  of 
any  resemblances  that  may  be  found  is  so  unreasonable 
that  the  masses  have  never  accepted  it. 

If  we  see  houses  of  different  size,  from  one  room  to 
one  hundred,  we  do  not  say  that  the  large  houses  grew 
out  of  small  ones,  but  that  the  architect  that  could  plan 
one  could  plan  all. 

But  a  groundless  hypothesis — even  an  absurd  one — 
would  be  unworthy  of  notice  if  it  did  no  harm.  This 
hypothesis,  however,  does  incalculable  harm.  It 
teaches  that  Christianity  impairs  the  race  physically. 
That  was  the  first  implication  at  which  I  revolted.  It 
led  me  to  review  the  doctrine  and  reject  it  entirely.  If 
hatred  is  the  law  of  man's  development ;  that  is,  if  man 
has  reached  his  present  perfection  by  a  cruel  law  under 
which  the  strong  kill  off  the  weak — then,  if  there  is 
any  logic  that  can  bind  the  human  mind,  we  must  turn 
backward  toward  the  brute  If  we  dare  to  substitute 
the  law  of  love  for  the  law  of  hate.  That  is  the  con- 
clusion that  I  reached  and  it  is  the  conclusion  that  Dar- 
win himself  reached.  On  pages  149-50  he  says: 
"  With  savages  the  weak  in  body  or  mind  are  soon 
eliminated ;  and  those  that  survive  commonly  exhibit  a 
vigorous  state  of  health.  We  civilized  men,  on  the 
other  hand,  do  our  utmost  to  check  the  progress  of 


108  TEE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN 

elimination.  We  build  asylums  for  the  imbecile,  the 
maimed  and  the  sick ;  we  institute  poor  laws ;  our  med- 
ical experts  exert  their  utmost  skill  to  save  the  lives  of 
every  one  to  the  last  moment.  There  is  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  vaccination  has  preserved  thousands  who 
from  weak  constitutions  would  have  succumbed  to 
smallpox.  Thus  the  weak  members  of  civilized  socie- 
ties propagate  their  kind.  No  one  who  has  attended  to 
the  breeding  of  domestic  animals  will  doubt  that  this 
must  be  highly  injurious  to  the  race  of  man." 

This  confession  deserves  analysis.  First,  he  com- 
mends, by  implication,  the  savage  method  of  eliminat- 
ing the  weak,  while,  by  implication,  he  condemns 
"  civilized  men  "  for  prolonging  the  life  of  the  weak. 
He  even  blames  vaccination  because  it  has  preserved 
thousands  who  might  otherwise  have  succumbed  (for 
the  benefit  of  the  race?).  Can  you  imagine  anything 
more  brutal?  And  then  note  the  low  level  of  the  ar- 
gument. *'  No  one  who  has  attended  the  breeding  of 
domestic  animals  will  doubt  that  this  must  be  highly 
injurious  to  the  race  of  man."  All  on  a  brute 
basis. 

His  hypothesis  breaks  down  here.  The  minds 
which,  according  to  Darwin,  are  developed  by  natural 
selection  and  sexual  selection,  use  their  power  to  sus- 
pend the  law  by  which  they  have  reached  their  high 
positions.  Medicine  is  one  of  the  greatest  of  the 
sciences  and  its  chief  object  is  to  save  life  and 
strengthen  the  weak.  That,  Darwin  complains,  inter- 
feres with  "the  survival  of  the  fittest."  If  he  com- 
plains of  vaccination,  what  would  he  say  of  the  more 


THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN  109 

recent  discovery  of  remedies  for  typhoid  fever,  yellow 
fever  and  the  black  plague  ?  And  what  would  he  think 
of  saving  weak  babies  by  pasteurizing  milk  and  of  the 
efforts  to  find  a  specific  for  tuberculosis  and  cancer? 
Can  such  a  barbarous  doctrine  be  sound  ? 

But  Darwin's  doctrine  is  even  more  destructive. 
His  heart  rebels  against  the  "  hard  reason "  upon 
which  his  heartless  hypothesis  is  built.  He  says: 
"  The  aid  which  we  feel  impelled  to  give  to  the  help- 
less is  mainly  the  result  of  the  instinct  of  sympathy, 
which  was  originally  acquired  as  a  part  of  the  social 
instincts,  but  subsequently  rendered  in  the  manner  in- 
dicated, more  tender  and  more  widely  diffused.  Nor 
could  we  check  our  sympathy  even  at  the  urging  of 
hard  reason,  without  deterioration  in  the  noblest  part 
of  our  nature.  The  surgeon  may  harden  himself  while 
performing  an  operation,  for  he  knows  he  is  acting  for 
the  good  of  his  patient ;  but  if  we  were  to  intentionally 
neglect  the  weak  and  the  helpless,  it  could  be  only  for 
a  contingent  benefit,  with  overwhelming  present  evil. 
We  must  therefore  bear  the  undoubted  bad  effects  of 
the  weak  surviving  and  propagating  their  kind." 

The  moral  nature  which,  according  to  Darwin,  is  also 
developed  by  natural  selection  and  sexual  selection,  re- 
pudiates the  brutal  law  to  which,  if  his  reasoning  is 
correct,  it  owes  its  origin.  Can  that  doctrine  be  ac- 
cepted as  scientific  when  its  author  admits  that  we  can- 
not apply  it  "  without  deterioration  in  the  noblest  part 
of  our  nature "  ?  On  the  contrary,  civilization  is 
measured  by  the  moral  revolt  against  the  cruel  doctrine 
developed  by  Darwin. 


110  THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN 

Darwin  rightly  decided  to  suspend  his  doctrine,  even 
at  the  risk  of  impairing  the  race.  But  some  of  his 
followers  are  more  hardened.  A  few  years  ago  I  read 
a  book  in  which  the  author  defended  the  use  of  alcohol 
on  the  ground  that  it  rendered  a  service  to  society  by 
killing  off  the  degenerates.  And  this  argument  was 
advanced  by  a  scientist  in  the  fall  of  1930  at  a  congress 
against  alcohol. 

The  language  which  I  have  quoted  proves  that  Dar- 
winism IS  directly  antagonistic  to  Christianity,  which 
boasts  of  its  eleemosynary  institutions  and  of  the  care 
it  bestows  on  the  weak  and  the  helpless.  Darwin,  by 
putting  man  on  a  brute  basis  and  ignoring  spiri- 
tual values,  attacks  the  very  foundations  of  Chris- 
tianity. 

Those  who  accept  Darwin's  views  are  in  the  habit  of 
saying  that  it  need  not  lessen  their  reverence  for  God 
to  believe  that  the  Creator  fashioned  a  germ  of  life  and 
endowed  it  with  power  to  develop  into  what  we  see  to- 
day. It  is  true  that  a  God  who  could  make  man  as  he 
is,  could  have  made  him  by  the  long-drawn-out  process 
suggested  by  Darwin.  To  do  either  would  require  in- 
finite power,  beyond  the  ability  of  man  to  compre- 
hend. But  what  IS  the  natural  tendency  of  Darwin's 
doctrine  ? 

Will  man's  attitude  toward  Darwin's  God  be  the 
same  as  it  would  be  toward  the  God  of  Moses?  Will 
the  believer  in  Darwin's  God  be  as  conscious  of  God's 
presence  in  his  daily  life?  Will  he  be  as  sensitive  to 
God's  will  and  as  anxious  to  find  out  what  God  wants 
him  to  do  ? 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  MAN  111 

Will  the  believer  in  Darwin's  God  be  as  fervent  in 
prayer  and  as  open  to  the  reception  of  divine  sugges- 
tions ? 

I  shall  later  trace  the  influence  of  Darwinism  on 
world  peace  when  the  doctrine  is  espoused  by  one  bold 
enough  to  carry  it  to  its  logical  conclusion,  but  I  must 
now  point  out  its  natural  and  logical  effect  upon  young 
Christians. 

A  boy  is  born  in  a  Christian  family ;  as  soon  as  he  is 
able  to  join  words  together  into  sentences  his  mother 
teaches  him  to  lisp  the  child's  prayer:  ''  Now  I  lay  me 
down  to  sleep;  I  pray  the  Lord  my  soul  to  keep;  if  I 
should  die  before  I  w^ake,  I  pray  the  Lord  my  soul  to 
take."  A  little  later  the  boy  is  taught  the  Lord's 
Prayer  and  each  day  he  lays  his  petition  before  the 
Heavenly  Father:  "  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread  " ; 
"  Lead  us  not  into  temptation  " ;  '*  Deliver  us  from 
evil  "  ;  "  Forgive  our  trespasses  " ;  etc. 

He  talks  with  God.  He  goes  to  Sunday  school  and 
learns  that  the  Heavenly  Father  is  even  more  kind  than 
earthly  parents ;  he  hears  the  preacher  tell  how  precious 
our  lives  are  in  the  sight  of  God — how  even  a  sparrow 
cannot  fall  to  the  ground  without  His  notice.  All  his 
faith  is  built  upon  the  Book  that  informs  him  that  he 
is  made  in  the  image  of  God;  that  Christ  came  to  re- 
veal God  to  man  and  to  be  man's  Saviour. 

Then  he  goes  to  college  and  a  learned  professor 
leads  him  through  a  book  600  pages  thick,  largely 
devoted  to  resemblances  between  man  and  the  beasts 
about  him.  His  attention  is  called  to  a  point  in  the 
ear  that  is  like  a  point  in  the  ear  of  the  ourang,  to  ca- 


112  THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN 

nine  teeth,  to  muscles  like  those  by  which  a  horse 
moves  his  ears. 

He  is  then  told  that  everything  found  in  a  human 
brain  is  found  in  miniature  in  a  brute  brain. 

And  how  about  morals  ?  He  is  assured  that  the  de- 
velopment of  the  moral  sense  can  be  explained  on  a 
brute  basis  without  any  act  of,  or  aid  from,  God. 
(Seepages  113-114.) 

No  mention  of  religion,  the  only  basis  for  morality; 
not  a  suggestion  of  a  sense  of  responsibility  to  God — 
nothing  but  cold,  clammy  materialism!  Darwinism 
transforms  the  Bible  into  a  story  book  and  reduces 
Christ  to  man's  level.  It  gives  him  an  ape  for  an  an- 
cestor on  His  mother's  side  at  least  and,  as  many  evo- 
lutionists believe,  on  His  Father's  side  also. 

The  instructor  gives  the  student  a  new  family  tree 
millions  of  years  long,  with  its  roots  in  the  water 
(marine  animals)  and  then  sets  him  adrift,  with  infi- 
nite capacity  for  good  or  evil  but  with  no  light  to 
guide  him,  no  compass  to  direct  him  and  no  chart  of 
the  sea  of  life! 

No  wonder  so  large  a  percentage  of  the  boys  and 
girls  who  go  from  Sunday  schools  and  churches  to  col- 
leges (sometimes  as  high  as  seventy-five  per  cent.) 
never  return  to  religious  work.  How  can  one  feel 
God's  presence  in  his  daily  life  if  Darwin's  reasoning 
is  sound?  This  restraining  influence,  more  potent 
than  any  external  force,  is  paralyzed  when  God  is  put 
so  far  away.  How  can  one  believe  in  prayer  if, 
for  millions  of  years,  God  has  never  touched  a  human 
life  or  laid  His  hand  upon  the  destiny  of  the  human 


THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN  113 

race?  What  mockery  to  petition  or  implore,  if  God 
neither  hears  nor  answers.  Elijah  taunted  the 
prophets  of  Baal  when  their  god  failed  to  answer  with 
fire ;  "  Cry  aloud/'  he  said,  "  peradventure  he  sleep- 
eth."  Darwin  mocks  the  Christians  even  more  cruelly; 
he  tells  us  that  our  God  has  been  asleep  for  millions  of 
years.  Even  worse,  he  does  not  affirm  that  Jehovah 
was  ever  awake.  Nowhere  does  he  collect  for  the 
reader  the  evidences  of  a  Creative  Power  and  call  upon 
man  to  worship  and  obey  God.  The  great  scientist  is, 
if  I  may  borrow  a  phrase,  "  too  much  absorbed  in  the 
things  infinitely  small  to  consider  the  things  infinitely 
great."  Darwinism  chills  the  spiritual  nature  and 
quenches  the  fires  of  religious  enthusiasm.  If  the 
proof  in  support  of  Darwinism  does  not  compel  accept- 
ance— and  it  does  not — why  substitute  it  for  an  ac- 
count of  the  Creation  that  links  man  directly  with  the 
Creator  and  holds  before  him  an  example  to  be  imi- 
tated? As  the  eminent  theologian,  Charles  Hodge, 
says:  "The  Scriptural  doctrine  (of  Creation)  ac- 
counts for  the  spiritual  nature  of  man,  and  meets  all 
his  spiritual  necessities.  It  gives  him  an  object  of 
adoration,  love  and  confidence.  It  reveals  the  Being 
on  whom  his  indestructible  sense  of  responsibility  ter- 
minates. The  truth  of  this  doctrine,  therefore,  rests 
not  only  upon  the  authority  of  the  Scriptures  but  on 
the  very  constitution  of  our  nature." 

I  have  spoken  of  what  would  seem  to  be  the  natural 
and  logical  effect  of  the  Darwin  hypothesis  on  the 
minds  of  the  young.  This  view  is  confirmed  by  its 
actual  effect  on  Darwin  himself.     In  his  "  Life  and 


114  THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN 

Letters,"  he  says :  "  I  am  much  engaged,  an  old  man, 
and  out  of  health,  and  I  cannot  spare  time  to  answer 
your  questions  fully — nor  indeed  can  they  be  an- 
swered. Science  has  nothing  to  do  with  Christ,  ex- 
cept in  so  far  as  the  habit  of  scientific  research  makes 
a  man  cautious  in  admitting  evidence.  For  myself,  I 
do  not  believe  that  there  ever  has  been  any  revelation. 
As  for  a  future  life,  every  man  must  judge  for  himself 
between  conflicting  vague  probabilities."  It  will  be 
seen  that  science,  according  to  Darwin,  has  nothing  to 
do  with  Christ  (except  to  discredit  revelation  which 
makes  Christ's  mission  known  to  men).  Darwin  him- 
self does  not  believe  that  there  has  ever  been  any  reve- 
lation, which,  of  course,  excludes  Christ.  It  will  be 
seen  also  that  he  has  no  definite  views  on  the  fntiire 
life — "  every  man,"  he  says,  ''  must  judge  for  himself 
between  conflicting  vague  probabilities/^ 

It  is  fair  to  conclude  that  it  was  his  own  doctrine 
that  led  him  astray,  for  in  the  same  connection  (in 
"Life  and  Letters")  he  says  that  when  aboard  the 
Beagle  he  was  called  "  orthodox  and  was  heartily 
laughed  at  by  several  of  the  oiificers  for  quoting  the 
Bible  as  an  unanswerable  authority  on  some  point  of 
morality."  In  the  same  connection  he  thus  describes 
his  change  and  his  final  attitude:  "  When  thus  reflect- 
ing I  feel  compelled  to  look  to  a  First  Cause,  having 
an  intelligent  mind  in  some  degree  analogous  to  that 
of  man;  and  I  deserve  to  be  called  a  Theist.  This 
conclusion  was  strong  in  my  mind  about  the  time,  as 
far  as  I  can  remember,  when  I  wrote  the  *  Origin  of 
Species';  and  it  is  since  that  time  that  it  has  very 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  MAN  115 

gradually,  with  many  fluctuations,  become  weaker. 
But  then  arises  the  doubt:  Can  the  mind  of  man, 
which  has,  as  I  fully  believe,  been  developed  from  a 
mind  as  low  as  that  possessed  by  the  lowest  animals,  be 
trusted  when  it  draws  such  grand  conclusions? 

''  I  cannot  pretend  to  throw  the  least  light  on  such 
abstruse  problems.  The  mystery  of  the  beginning  of 
all  things  is  insoluble  by  us;  and  I  for  one  must  be 
content  to  remain  an  Agnostic." 

A  careful  reading  of  the  above  discloses  the  gradual 
transition  wrought  in  Darwin  himself  by  the  unsup- 
ported hypothesis  which  he  launched  upon  the  world, 
or  which  he  endorsed  with  such  earnestness  and  indus- 
try as  to  impress  his  name  upon  it.  He  was  regarded 
as  ''orthodox''  when  he  was  young;  he  was  even 
laughed  at  for  quoting  the  Bible  "'  as  an  unanswerable 
authority  on  some  point  of  morality/'  In  the  begin- 
ning he  regarded  himself  as  a  Theist  and  felt  com- 
pelled "  to  look  to  a  First  Cause,  having  an  intelligent 
mind  In  some  degree  analogous  to  that  of  man." 

This  conclusion,  he  says,  was  strong  in  his  mind 
when  he  wrote  "  The  Origin  of  Species,"  but  he  ob- 
serves that  since  that  time  this  conclusion  very  gradu- 
ally became  weaker,  and  then  he  unconsciously  brings 
a  telling  indictment  against  his  own  hypothesis.  He 
says,  "Can  the  mind  of  man  (which,  according  to  his 
belief,  has  been  developed  from  a  mind  as  low  as  that 
possessed  by  the  lowest  animals)  be  trusted  when  it 
draivs  such  grand  conclusions?  '*  He  first  links  man 
with  the  animals,  and  then,  because  of  this  supposed 
connection,  estimates  man's  mind  by  brute  standards. 


116  THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN 

Agnosticism  is  the  natural  attitude  of  the  evolutionist. 
How  can  a  brute  mind  comprehend  spiritual  things? 
It  makes  a  tremendous  difference  what  a  man  thinks 
about  his  origin  whether  he  looks  up  or  down.  Who 
will  say,  after  reading  these  words,  that  it  is  immaterial 
what  man  thinks  about  his  origin?  Who  will  deny 
that  the  acceptance  of  the  Darwinian  hypothesis  shuts 
out  the  higher  reasonings  and  the  larger  conceptions 
of  man? 

On  the  very  brink  of  the  grave,  after  he  had  ex- 
tracted from  his  hypothesis  all  the  good  that  there  was 
in  it  and  all  the  benefit  that  it  could  confer,  he  is  help- 
lessly in  the  dark,  and  "  cannot  pretend  to  throw  the 
least  light  on  such  abstruse  problems."  When  he  be- 
lieved in  God,  in  the  Bible,  m  Christ  and  in  a  future 
life  there  were  no  mysteries  that  disturbed  him,  but  a 
guess  with  nothing  in  the  universe  to  support  it  swept 
him  away  from  his  moorings  and  left  him  in  his  old 
age  in  the  midst  of  mysteries  that  he  thought  insoluble. 
He  must  content  himself  with  Agnosticism.  What 
can  Darwinism  ever  do  to  compensate  any  one  for  the 
destruction  of  faith  in  God,  in  His  Word,  in  His  Son, 
and  of  hope  of  immortality? 

It  would  seem  sufficient  to  quote  Darwin  against 
himself  and  to  cite  the  confessed  effect  of  the  doctrine 
as  a  sufficient  reason  for  rejecting  it,  but  the  situation 
is  a  very  serious  one  and  there  is  other  evidence  that 
should  be  presented. 

James  H.  Leuba,  a  professor  of  Psychology  in  Bryn 
Mawr  College,  Pennsylvania,  wrote  a  book  five  years 
ago,  entitled  "Belief  in  God  and  Immortality."    It 


THE  OKIGIN  OF  MAN  117 

was  published  by  Sherman  French  &  Co.,  of  Boston, 
and  repubHshed  by  The  Open  Court  PubHshing  Com- 
pany of  Chicago.  Every  Christian  preacher  should 
procure  a  copy  of  this  book  and  it  should  be  in  the 
hands  of  every  Christian  layman  who  is  anxious  to  aid 
in  the  defense  of  the  Bible  against  its  enemies.  Leuba 
has  discarded  belief  in  a  personal  God  and  in  personal 
immortality.  He  asserts  that  belief  in  a  personal  God 
and  personal  immortality  is  declining  in  the  United 
States,  and  he  furnishes  proof,  which,  as  long  as  it  is 
unchallenged,  seems  conclusive.  He  takes  a  book  con- 
taining the  names  of  fifty-five  hundred  scientists — the 
names  of  practically  all  American  scientists  of  promi- 
nence, he  affirms — and  sends  them  questions.  Upon 
the  answers  received  he  asserts  that  more  than  one- 
half  of  the  prominent  scientists  of  the  United  States, 
those  teaching  Biology,  Psychology,  Geology  and  His- 
tory especially,  have  discarded  belief  in  a  personal  God 
and  in  personal  immortality. 

This  Is  what  the  doctrine  of  evolution  Is  doing  for 
those  who  teach  our  children.  They  first  discard  the 
Mosaic  account  of  man's  creation,  and  they  do  It  on  the 
ground  that  there  are  no  miracles.  This  In  Itself  con- 
stitutes a  practical  repudiation  of  the  Bible;  the  mir- 
acles of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  cannot  be  cut  out 
without  a  mutilation  that  is  equivalent  to  rejection. 
They  reject  the  supernatural  along  with  the  miracle, 
and  with  the  supernatural  the  inspiration  of  the  Bible 
and  the  authority  that  rests  upon  Inspiration.  If  these 
believers  In  evolution  are  consistent  and  have  the  cour- 
age to  carry  their  doctrine  to  its  logical  conclusion. 


118  THE  ORIGIN  OF  MAN 

they  reject  the  virgin  birth  of  Christ  and  the  resurrec- 
tion. They  may  still  regard  Christ  as  an  unusual  man, 
but  they  will  not  make  much  headway  in  converting 
people  to  Christianity,  if  they  declare  Jesus  to  be  noth- 
ing more  than  a  man  and  either  a  deliberate  impostor 
or  a  deluded  enthusiast. 

The  evil  influence  of  these  Materialistic,  Atheistic  or 
Agnostic  professors  is  disclosed  by  further  investiga- 
tion made  by  Leuba.  He  questioned  the  students  of 
nine  representative  colleges,  and  upon  their  answers  de- 
clares that,  while  only  fifteen  per  cent,  of  the  freshmen 
have  discarded  the  Christian  religion,  thirty  per  cent, 
of  the  juniors  and  that  forty  to  forty-five  per  cent,  of 
the  men  graduates  have  abandoned  the  cardinal  prin- 
ciples of  the  Christian  faith.  Can  Christians  be  indif- 
ferent to  such  statistics?  Is  it  an  immaterial  thing 
that  so  large  a  percentage  of  the  young  men  who  go 
from  Christian  homes  into  institutions  of  learning 
should  go  out  from  these  institutions  with  the  spiritual 
element  eliminated  from  their  lives?  What  shall  it 
profit  a  man  if  he  shall  gain  all  the  learning  of  the 
schools  and  lose  his  faith  in  God  ? 

To  show  how  these  evolutionists  undermine  the 
faith  of  students  let  me  give  you  an  illustration  that 
recently  came  to  my  attention:  A  student  In  one  of  the 
largest  State  universities  of  the  nation  recently  gave 
me  a  printed  speech  delivered  by  the  president  of  the 
university,  a  year  ago  this  month,  to  3,500  students, 
and  printed  and  circulated  by  the  Student  Christian 
Association  of  the  institution.  The  student  who  gave 
me  the  speech  marked  the  following  paragraph :  "And, 


THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN  119 

again,  religion  must  not  be  thought  of  as  something 
that  is  inconsistent  with  reasonable,  scientific  thinking 
in  regard  to  the  nature  of  the  universe.  I  go  so  far 
as  to  say  that,  if  you  cannot  reconcile  religion  with 
the  things  taught  in  biology,  in  psychology,  or  in  the 
other  fields  of  study  in  this  university,  then  you  should 
throw  your  religion  away.  Scientific  truth  is  here  to 
stay."  What  about  the  Bible,  is  it  not  here  to  stay? 
If  he  had  stopped  with  the  first  sentence,  his  language 
might  not  have  been  construed  to  the  injury  of  re- 
ligion, because  religion  is  not  "  inconsistent  with  rea- 
sonable, scientific  thinking  in  regard  to  the  nature  of 
the  universe."  There  is  nothing  unreasonable  about 
Christianity,  and  there  is  nothing  unscientific  about 
Christianity.  No  scientific  fact — no  fact  of  any  other 
kind  can  disturb  religion,  because  facts  are  not  in  con- 
flict with  each  other.  It  is  guessing  by  scientists  and 
so-called  scientists  that  is  doing  the  harm.  And  it  is 
guessing  that  is  endorsed  by  this  distinguished  college 
president  (a  D.  D.,  too,  as  well  as  an  LL.  D.  and  a 
Ph.  D. )  when  he  says,  "  I  go  so  far  as  to  say  that, 
if  you  cannot  reconcile  religion  with  the  things  taught 
in  biology,  in  psychology,  or  in  the  other  fields  of  study 
in  this  university,  then  you  should  throw  your  religion 
away."  What  does  this  mean,  except  that  the  books 
on  biology  and  on  other  scientific  subjects  used  in  that 
university  are  to  be  preferred  to  the  Bible  in  case  of 
conflict?  The  student  is  told,  "throw  your  religion 
away,"  if  he  cannot  reconcile  it  (the  Bible,  of 
course,)  with  the  things  taught  in  biology,  psychology, 
etc.     Books  on  biology  change  constantly,   likewise 


120  THE  OKIGIN  OF  MAN 

books  on  psychology,  and  yet  they  are  held  before  the 
students  as  better  authority  than  the  unchanging  Word 
of  God. 

Is  any  other  proof  needed  to  show  the  irreligious  in- 
fluence exerted  by  Darwinism  applied  to  man  ?  At  the 
University  of  Wisconsin  (so  a  Methodist  preacher 
told  me)  a  teacher  told  his  class  that  the  Bible  was  a 
collection  of  myths.  When  I  brought  the  matter  to 
the  attention  of  the  President  of  the  University,  he 
criticized  me  but  avoided  all  reference  to  the  professor. 
At  Ann  Arbor  a  professor  argued  with  students  against 
religion  and  asserted  that  no  thinking  man  could 
believe  in  God  or  the  Bible.  At  Columbia  (I  learned 
this  from  a  Baptist  preacher)  a  professor  began  his 
course  in  geology  by  telling  his  class  to  throw  away  all 
that  they  had  learned  in  the  Sunday  school.  There  is 
a  professor  in  Yale  of  whom  it  is  said  that  no  one 
leaves  his  class  a  believer  in  God.  (This  came  from  a 
young  man  who  told  me  that  his  brother  was  being  led 
away  from  the  Christian  faith  by  this  professor.)  A 
father  (a  Congressman)  tells  me  that  a  daughter  on 
her  return  from  Wellesley  told  him  that  nobody  be- 
lieved in  the  Bible  stories  now.  Another  father  (a 
Congressman)  tells  me  of  a  son  whose  faith  was  un- 
dermined by  this  doctrine  in  a  Divinity  School.  Three 
preachers  told  me  of  having  their  interest  in  the  sub- 
ject aroused  by  the  return  of  their  children  from  col- 
lege with  their  faith  shaken.  The  Northern  Baptists 
have  recently,  after  a  spirited  contest,  secured  the 
adoption  of  a  Confession  of  Faith ;  it  was  opposed  by 
the  evolutionists. 


THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN  121 

In  Kentucky  the  fight  is  on  among  the  Disciples,  and 
it  is  becoming  more  and  more  acute  in  the  Northern 
branches  of  the  Methodist  and  Presbyterian  Churches. 
A  young  preacher,  just  out  of  a  theological  seminary, 
who  did  not  believe  in  the  virgin  birth  of  Christ,  was 
recently  ordained  in  Western  New  York.  Last  April 
I  met  a  young  man  who  was  made  an  atheist  by  two 
teachers  in  a  Christian  college. 

These  are  only  a  few  illustrations  that  have  come 
under  my  own  observation — nearly  all  of  them  within 
a  year.  What  is  to  be  done?  Are  the  members  of 
the  various  Christian  churches  willing  to  have  the 
power  of  the  pulpit  paralyzed  by  a  false,  absurd  and 
ridiculous  doctrine  which  is  without  support  in  the 
written  Word  of  God  and  without  support  also  in  na- 
ture? Is  "  thus  saith  the  Lord  "  to  be  supplanted  by 
guesses  and  speculations  and  assumptions?  I  submit 
three  propositions  for  the  consideration  of  the  Chris- 
tians of  the  nation: 

First,  the  preachers  who  are  to  break  the  bread  of 
life  to  the  lay  members  should  believe  that  man  has  in 
him  the  breath  of  the  Almighty,  as  the  Bible  declares, 
and  not  the  blood  of  the  brute,  as  the  evolutionists 
affirm.  He  should  also  believe  in  the  virgin  birth  of 
the  Saviour. 

Second,  none  but  Christians  in  good  standing  and 
with  a  spiritual  conception  of  life  should  be  allowed  to 
teach  in  Christian  schools.  Church  schools  are  worse 
than  useless  if  they  bring  students  under  the  influence 
of  those  who  do  not  believe  in  the  religion  upon  which 
the  Church  and  church  schools  are  built.     Atheism 


122  THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAK 

and  Agnosticism  are  more  dangerous  when  hidden 
under  the  cloak  of  reUgion  than  when  they  are  exposed 
to  view. 

Third,  in  schools  supported  by  taxation  we  should 
have  a  real  neutrality  wherever  neutrality  in  religion 
is  desired.  If  the  Bible  cannot  be  defended  in  these 
schools  it  should  not  be  attacked,  either  directly  or 
under  the  guise  of  philosophy  or  science.  The  neu- 
trality which  we  now  have  is  often  but  a  sham;  it 
carefully  excludes  the  Christian  religion  but  per- 
mits the  use  of  the  schoolrooms  for  the  destruction 
of  faith  and  for  the  teaching  of  materialistic  doc- 
trines. 

It  is  not  sufficient  to  say  that  some  believers  in  Dar- 
winism retain  their  belief  in  Christianity;  some  sur- 
vive smallpox.  As  we  avoid  smallpox  because  many 
die  of  it,  so  we  should  avoid  Darwinism  because  it 
leads  many  astray. 

If  it  is  contended  that  an  instructor  has  a  right  to 
teach  anything  he  likes,  I  reply  that  the  parents  who 
pay  the  salary  have  a  right  to  decide  what  shall  be 
taught.  To  continue  the  illustration  used  above,  a 
person  can  expose  himself  to  the  smallpox  if  he  desires 
to  do  so,  but  he  has  no  right  to  communicate  it  to 
others.  So  a  man  can  believe  anything  he  pleases  but 
he  has  no  right  to  teach  it  against  the  protest  of  his 
employers. 

Acceptance  of  Darwin's  doctrine  tends  to  destroy 
one's  belief  in  immortality  as  taught  by  the  Bible.  If 
there  has  been  no  break  in  the  line  between  man  and 
the  beasts — ^no  time  when  by  the  act  of  the  Heavenly 


THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN  123 

Father  man  became  "  a  living  Soul,"  at  what  period  in 
man's  development  was  he  endowed  with  the  hope  of 
a  future  life?  And,  if  the  brute  theory  leads  to  the 
abandonment  of  belief  in  a  future  life  with  its  rewards 
and  punishments,  what  stimulus  to  righteous  living  is 
offered  in  its  place  ? 

Darwinism  leads  to  a  denial  of  God.  Nietzsche 
carried  Darwinism  to  its  logical  conclusion  and  it 
made  him  the  most  extreme  of  anti-Christians.  I  had 
read  extracts  from  his  writings — enough  to  acquaint 
me  with  his  sweeping  denial  of  God  and  of  the  Saviour 
— but  not  enough  to  make  me  familiar  with  his  philos- 
ophy. 

As  the  war  progressed  I  became  more  and  more 
impressed  with  the  conviction  that  the  German  propa- 
ganda rested  upon  a  materialistic  foundation.  I  se- 
cured the  writings  of  Nietzsche  and  found  in  them  a 
defense,  made  in  advance,  of  all  the  cruelties  and 
atrocities  practiced  by  the  militarists  of  Germany. 
Nietzsche  tried  to  substitute  the  worship  of  the  *'  Su- 
perman "  for  the  worship  of  God.  He  not  only  re- 
jected the  Creator,  but  he  rejected  all  moral  standards. 
He  praised  war  and  eulogized  hatred  because  it  led  to 
war.  He  denounced  sympathy  and  pity  as  attributes 
unworthy  of  man.  He  believed  that  the  teachings  of 
Christ  made  degenerates  and,  logical  to  the  end,  he 
regarded  Democracy  as  the  refuge  of  weaklings.  He 
saw  in  man  nothing  but  an  animal  and  in  that  animal 
the  highest  virtue  he  recognized  was  "  The  Will  to 
Power" — a  will  which  should  know  no  let  or  hin- 
drance, no  restraint  or  limitation. 


124  THE  ORIGIN  OF  MAN 

Nietzsche's  philosophy  would  convert  the  world  into 
a  ferocious  conflict  between  beasts,  each  brute  tram- 
pling ruthlessly  on  everything  in  his  way.  In  his  book 
entitled  "  Joyful  Wisdom/'  Nietzsche  ascribes  to  Na- 
poleon the  very  same  dream  of  power — Europe  under 
one  sovereign  and  that  sovereign  the  master  of  the 
world — that  lured  the  Kaiser  into  a  sea  of  blood  from 
which  he  emerged  an  exile  seeking  security  under  a 
foreign  flag.  Nietzsche  names  Darwin  as  one  of  the 
three  great  men  of  his  century,  but  tries  to  deprive 
him  of  credit  (?)  for  the  doctrine  that  bears  his  name 
by  saying  that  Hegel  made  an  earlier  announcement  of 
It.  Nietzsche  died  hopelessly  Insane,  but  his  philos- 
ophy has  wrought  the  moral  ruin  of  a  multitude,  If  It  Is 
not  actually  responsible  for  bringing  upon  the  world  Its 
greatest  war. 

His  philosophy,  if  it  is  worthy  the  name  of  philos- 
ophy, is  the  ripened  fruit  of  Darwinism — and  a  tree  is 
known  by  its  fruit. 

In  1900 — over  twenty  years  ago — ^whlle  an  Interna- 
tional Peace  Congress  was  In  session  In  Paris  the  fol- 
lowing editorial  appeared  in  UUnivers: 

"  The  spirit  of  peace  has  fled  the  earth  because  evo- 
lution has  taken  possession  of  It.  The  plea  for  peace 
in  past  years  has  been  Inspired  by  faith  in  the  divine 
nature  and  the  divine  origin  of  man;  men  were  then 
looked  upon  as  children  of  one  Father  and  war,  there- 
fore, was  fractlcide.  But  now  that  men  are  looked 
upon  as  children  of  apes,  what  matters  It  whether  they 
are  slaughtered  or  not  ?  " 

I  have  given  you  above  the  words  of  a  French  writer 


THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN  125 

published  twenty  years  ago.  I  have  just  found  in  a 
book  recently  published  by  a  prominent  English  writer 
words  along  the  same  line,  only  more  comprehensive. 
The  corroding  influence  of  Darwinism  has  spread  as 
the  doctrine  has  been  increasingly  accepted.  In  the 
American  preface  to  "  The  Glass  of  Fashion  '*  these 
words  are  to  be  found:  *'  Darwinism  not  only  justifies 
the  sensualist  at  the  trough  and  Fashion  at  her  glass; 
it  justifies  Prussianism  at  the  cannon's  mouth  and  Bol- 
shevism at  the  prison-door.  If  Darwinism  be  true,  if 
Mind  is  to  be  driven  out  of  the  universe  and  accident 
accepted  as  a  sufficient  cause  for  all  the  majesty  and 
glory  of  physical  nature,  then  there  is  no  crime  or  vio- 
lence, however  abominable  in  its  circumstances  and 
however  cruel  in  its  execution,  which  cannot  be  justi- 
fied by  success,  and  no  triviality,  no  absurdity  of  Fash- 
ion which  deserves  a  censure:  more — there  is  no  act  of 
disinterested  love  and  tenderness,  no  deed  of  self-sac- 
rifice and  mercy,  no  aspiration  after  beauty  and  excel- 
lence, for  which  a  single  reason  can  be  adduced  in 
logic." 

To  destroy  the  faith  of  Christians  and  lay  the  foun- 
dation for  the  bloodiest  war  in  history  would  seem 
enough  to  condemn  Darwinism,  but  there  are  still  two 
other  indictments  to  bring  against  it.  First,  that  it 
is  the  basis  of  the  gigantic  class  struggle  that  is  now 
shaking  society  throughout  the  world.  Both  the  capi- 
talist and  the  labourer  are  increasingly  class  conscious. 
Why?  Because  the  doctrine  of  the  "Individual  effi- 
cient for  himself  " — ^the  brute  doctrine  of  the  "  sur- 
vival of  the  fittest  '* — is  driving  men  into  a  life-ajad- 


126  THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN 

death  struggle  from  which  sympathy  and  the  spirit 
of  brotherhood  are  eHminated.  It  is  transforming  the 
industrial  world  into  a  slaughter-house. 

Benjamin  Kidd,  in  a  masterful  work,  entitled,  "  The 
Science  of  Power,"  points  out  how  Darwinism  fur- 
nished Neitzsche  with  a  scientific  basis  for  his  godless 
system  of  philosophy  and  is  demoralizing  industry. 

He  also  quotes  eminent  English  scientists  to  support 
the  last  charge  in  the  indictment,  namely,  that  Darwin- 
ism robs  the  reformer  of  hope.  Its  plan  of  operation 
is  to  improve  the  race  by  "  scientific  breeding  "  on  a 
purely  physical  basis.  A  few  hundred  years  may  be 
required — possibly  a  few  thousand — but  what  is  time 
to  one  who  carries  eons  in  his  quiver  and  envelopes  his 
opponents  in  the  "  Mist  of  Ages  "  ? 

Kidd  would  substitute  the  "  Emotion  of  the  Ideal " 
for  scientific  breeding  and  thus  shorten  the  time  nec- 
essary for  the  triumph  of  a  social  reform.  He  counts 
one  or  two  generations  as  sufficient.  This  is  an  enor- 
mous advance  over  Darwin's  doctrine,  but  Christ's 
plan  is  still  more  encouraging.  A  man  can  be  born 
again;  the  springs  of  life  can  be  cleansed  instantly  so 
that  the  heart  loves  the  things  that  it  formerly  hated 
and  hates  the  things  that  it  once  loved.  If  this  is  true 
of  one,  it  can  be  true  of  any  number.  Thus,  a  nation 
can  be  born  in  a  day  if  the  ideals  of  the  people  can  be 
changed. 

Many  have  tried  to  harmonize  Darwinism  with  the 
Bible,  but  these  efforts,  while  honest  and  sometimes 
even  agonizing,  have  not  been  successful.  How  could 
they  be  when  the  natural  and  inevitable  tendency  of 


THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN  127 

Darwinism  is  to  exalt  the  mind  at  the  expense  of  the 
heart,  to  overestimate  the  reUabihty  of  the  reason  as 
compared  with  faith  and  to  impair  confidence  in  the 
Bible.  The  mind  is  a  machine ;  it  has  no  morals.  It 
obeys  its  owner  as  willingly  when  he  plots  to  kill  as 
when  he  plans  for  service. 

The  Theistic  evolutionist  who  tries  to  occupy  a  mid- 
dle ground  between  those  who  accept  the  Bible  account 
of  creation  and  those  who  reject  God  entirely  reminds 
one  of  a  traveller  in  the  mountains,  who,  having  fallen 
half-way  down  a  steep  slope,  catches  hold  of  a  frail 
bush.  It  takes  so  much  of  his  strength  to  keep  from 
going  lower  that  he  is  useless  as  an  aid  to  others. 
Those  who  have  accepted  evolution  in  the  belief  that  it 
was  not  anti-Christian  may  well  revise  their  conclu- 
sions in  view  of  the  accumulating  evidence  of  its  bane- 
ful influence. 

Darwinism  discredits  the  things  that  are  supernatu- 
ral and  encourages  the  worship  of  the  intellect — an 
idolatry  as  deadly  to  spiritual  progress  as  the  worship 
of  images  made  by  human  hands.  The  injury  that  it 
does  would  be  even  greater  than  it  is  but  for  the  moral 
momentum  acquired  by  the  student  before  he  comes 
under  the  blighting  influence  of  the  doctrine. 

Many  instances  could  be  cited  to  show  how  the  the- 
ory that  man  descended  from  the  brute  has,  when  de- 
liberately adopted,  driven  reverence  from  the  heart  and 
made  young  Christians  agnostics  and  sometimes  athe- 
ists— depriving  them  of  the  joy,  and  society  of  the 
service,  that  come  from  altruistic  effort  inspired  by 
religion. 


128  THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN 

I  have  recently  read  of  a  pathetic  case  in  point.  In 
the  Encyclopaedia  Americana  you  will  find  a 
sketch  of  the  life  of  George  John  Romanes,  from 
which  the  following  extract  is  taken:  "Romanes, 
George  John,  English  scientist.  In  1879  he  was 
elected  fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  and  in  1878  pub- 
lished, under  the  pseudonym  '  Physicus,'  a  work  en- 
titled, *A  Candid  Examination  of  Theism,'  in  which 
he  took  up  a  somewhat  defiant  atheistic  position.  Sub- 
sequently his  views  underwent  considerable  change ;  he 
revised  the  *  Candid  Examination,'  and,  toward  the 
close  of  his  life,  was  engaged  on  *A  Candid  Examina- 
tion of  Religion,'  in  which  he  returned  to  theistic  be- 
liefs. His  notes  for  this  work  were  published  after  his 
death,  under  the  title  *  Thoughts  on  Religion,'  edited 
by  Canon  Gore.  Romanes  was  an  ardent  supporter  of 
Darwin  and  the  evolutionists  and  in  various  works 
sought  to  extend  evolutionary  principles  to  mind,  both 
in  the  lower  animals  and  in  the  man.  He  wrote  very 
extensively  on  modem  biological  theories." 

Let  me  use  Romanes'  own  language  to  describe  the 
disappointing  experiences  of  this  intellectual  "  prodigal 
son."  On  page  180  of  "Thoughts  on  Religion" 
(written,  as  above  stated,  just  before  his  death  but  not 
published  until  after  his  demise)  he  says,  "  The  views 
that  I  entertained  on  this  subject  (Plan  in  Revelation) 
when  an  undergraduate  (i.  e.,  the  ordinary  orthodox 
views)  were  abandoned  in  the  presence  of  the  theory 
of  Evolution." 

It  was  the  doctrine  of  Evolution  that  led  him  astray. 
He  attempted  to  employ  reason  to  the  exclusion  of 


THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN  129 

faith — ^with  the  usual  result.  He  abandoned  prayer, 
as  he  explains  on  pages  143  and  143 :  "  Even  the  sim- 
plest act  of  will  in  regard  to  religion — that  of  prayer — 
has  not  been  performed  by  me  for  at  least  a  quarter  of 
a  century,  simply  because  it  has  seemed  impossible  to 
pray,  as  it  were,  hypothetically,  that,  much  as  I  have 
always  desired  to  be  able  to  pray,  I  cannot  will  the  at- 
tempt. To  justify  myself  for  what  my  better  judg- 
ment has  often  seemed  to  be  essentially  irrational,  I 
have  ever  made  sundry  excuses."  "  Others  have 
doubtless  other  difficulties,  but  mine  is  chiefly,  I  think, 
that  of  an  undue  regard  to  reason  as  against  heart  and 
will — ^undue,  I  mean,  if  so  it  be  that  Christianity  is 
true,  and  the  conditions  to  faith  in  it  have  been  of 
divine  ordination." 

In  time  he  tired  of  the  husks  of  materialism  and 
started  back  to  his  Father's  house.  It  was  a  weary 
journey  but  as  he  plodded  along,  his  appreciation  of 
the  heart's  part  Increased  until,  on  pages  153  and  153, 
he  says,  "  It  is  a  fact  that  we  all  feel  the  Intellectual 
part  of  man  to  be  *  higher '  than  the  animal,  whatever 
our  theory  of  his  origin.  It  Is  a  fact  that  we  all  feel 
the  moral  part  of  man  to  be  *  higher '  than  the  intel- 
lectual, whatever  our  theory  of  either  may  be.  It  is 
also  a  fact  that  we  all  similarly  feel  the  spiritual  to  be 
*  higher '  than  the  moral,  whatever  our  theory  of  re- 
ligion may  be.  It  is  what  we  understand  by  man's 
moral,  and  still  more  his  spiritual,  qualities  that  go  to 
constitute  character.  And  It  Is  astonishing  how  in  all 
walks  of  life  It  is  character  that  tells  In  the  long  run." 

On  page  150  he  answered  Huxley's  attack  on  faith. 


130  THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN 

He  says,  "  Huxley,  in  *  Lay  Sermons/  says  that  faith 
has  been  proved  a  *  cardinal  sin '  by  science.  Now  this 
is  true  enough  of  credulity,  superstition,  etc.,  and 
science  has  done  no  end  of  good  in  developing  our 
ideas  of  method,  evidence,  etc.  But  this  is  all  on  the 
side  of  intellect.  *  Faith  '  is  not  touched  by  such  facts 
or  considerations.  And  what  a  terrible  hell  science 
would  have  made  of  the  world,  if  she  had  abolished  the 
*  spirit  of  faith,'  even  in  human  relations." 

In  the  days  of  his  apostasy  he  "  took  it  for  granted," 
he  says  on  page  164,  "  that  Christianity  was  played 
out."  When  once  his  eyes  were  reopened  he  vied  with 
Paul  himself  in  recognizing  the  superior  quality  of 
love.  On  page  163  he  quoted  the  eloquent  lines  of 
Bourdillon : 

The  night  has  a  thousand  eyes, 

And  the  day  but  one  ; 
Yet  the  light  of  a  whole  world  dies 

With  the  setting  sun. 

The  mind  has  a  thousand  eyes. 

And  the  heart  but  one  ; 
Yet  the  light  of  a  whole  life  dies 

When  love  is  done. 

Having  quoted  this  noble  sentiment  he  adds :  "  Love 
IS  known  to  be  all  this.  How  great  then,  is  Christian- 
ity, as  being  the  religion  of  love,  and  causing  men  to 
believe  both  in  the  cause  of  love's  supremacy  and  the 
infinity  of  God's  love  to  man." 

But  Romanes  still  clung  to  Evolution  and,  so  far  as 
his  book  discloses,  his  mind  would  never  allow  his 
heart  to  commune  with  Darwin's  far-away  God,  whose 


THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN  131 

creative  power  Romanes  could  not  doubt  but  whose 
daily  presence  he  could  not  admit  without  abandoning 
his  theory. 

His  is  a  typical  case,  but  many  of  the  wanderers 
never  return  to  the  fold;  they  are  lost  sheep.  If  the 
doctrine  were  demonstrated  to  be  true  its  acceptance 
would,  of  course,  be  obligatory,  but  how  can  one  bring 
himself  to  assent  to  a  series  of  assumptions  when  such 
a  course  is  accompanied  by  such  a  tremendous  risk  of 
spiritual  loss? 

If,  as  it  does  in  so  many  instances,  it  causes  the 
student  to  choose  Darwinism,  with  its  intellectual 
delusions,  and  reject  the  Bible,  with  the  incalculable 
blessings  that  its  heart-culture  brings,  what  minister  of 
the  Gospel  or  Christian  professor  can  justify  himself 
before  the  bar  of  conscience  if,  by  impairing  confidence 
in  the  Word  of  God,  he  wrecks  human  souls?  All  the 
intellectual  satisfaction  that  Darwinism  ever  brought 
to  those  who  have  accepted  it  will  not  offset  the  sorrow 
that  darkens  a  single  life  from  which  the  brute  theory 
of  descent  has  shut  out  the  sunshine  of  God's  presence 
and  the  companionship  of  Christ.  Here,  too,  we  have 
the  testimony  of  the  distinguished  scientist  from  whom 
I  have  been  quoting.  In  his  first  book — the  attack  on 
Theism — he  says:  (page  29,  "Thoughts  on  Religion") 
"  I  am  not  ashamed  to  confess  that  with  this  virtual 
negation  of  God  the  universe  to  me  has  lost  its  soul  of 
loveliness;  and,  although  from  henceforth  the  precept 
to  '  Work  while  it  is  day '  will  doubtless  gain  an 
intensified  force  from  the  terribly  intensified  meaning 
of  the  words  that  '  the  night  cometh  when  no  man  can 


132  THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN 

work/  yet  when  at  times  I  think,  as  think  at  times  I 
must,  of  the  appalling  contrast  between  the  hallowed 
glory  of  that  creed  which  once  was  mine,  and  the 
lonely  mystery  of  existence  as  now  I  find  it, — at  such 
times  I  shall  ever  feel  it  impossible  to  avoid  the 
sharpest  pang  of  which  my  nature  is  susceptible." 

Romanes,  during  his  college  days,  came  under  the 
influence  of  those  who  worshipped  the  reason  and  this 
worship  led  him  out  into  a  starless  night.  Have  we 
not  a  right  to  demand  something  more  than  guesses, 
surmises,  and  hypotheses  before  we  exchange  the  "  hal- 
lowed glory  "  of  the  Christian  creed  for  "  the  lonely 
mystery  of  existence''  as  Romanes  found  it?  Shall 
we  at  the  behest  of  those  who  put  the  intellect  above 
the  heart  endorse  an  unproved  doctrine  of  descent  and 
share  responsibility  for  the  wreckage  of  all  that  is 
spiritual  in  the  lives  of  our  young  people?  I  refuse 
to  have  any  part  in  such  responsibility.  For  nearly 
twenty  years  I  have  gone  from  college  to  college  and 
talked  to  students.  Wherever  I  could  do  so  I  have 
pointed  out  the  demoralizing  influence  of  Darwinism. 
I  have  received  thanks  from  many  students  who  were 
perplexed  by  the  materialistic  teachings  of  their  in- 
structors and  I  have  been  encouraged  by  the  approval 
of  parents  who  were  distressed  by  the  visible  effects  of 
these  teachings  on  their  children. 

As  many  believers  in  Darwinism  are  led  to  reject 
the  Bible  let  me,  by  way  of  recapitulation,  contrast  that 
doctrine  with  the  Bible: 

Darwinism  deals  with  nothing  but  life;  the  Bible 
deals  "with  the  entire  imiverse — with  its  masses  of 


THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN  133 

inanimate  matter  and  with  its  myriads  of  living  things, 
all  obedient  to  the  will  of  the  great  Law  Giver. 

Darwin  concerns  himself  with  only  that  part  of 
man's  existence  which  is  spent  on  earth — while  the 
Bible's  teachings  cover  all  of  life,  both  here  and  here- 
after. 

Darwin  begins  by  assuming  life  upon  the  earth;  the 
Bible  reveals  the  source  of  life  and  chronicles  its 
creation. 

Darwin  devotes  nearly  all  his  time  to  man's  body 
and  to  the  points  at  which  the  human  frame  approaches 
in  structure — though  vastly  different  from — the  brute ; 
the  Bible  emphasizes  man's  godlike  qualities  and  the 
virtues  which  reflect  the  goodness  of  the  Heavenly 
Father. 

Darwinism  ends  in  self-destruction.  As  heretofore 
shown,  its  progress  is  suspended,  and  even  defeated, 
by  the  very  genius  which  it  is  supposed  to  develop ;  the 
Bible  invites  us  to  enter  fields  of  inexhaustible  oppor- 
tunity wherein  each  achievement  can  be  made  a  step- 
ping-stone to  greater  achievements  still. 

Darwin's  doctrine  is  so  brutal  that  it  shocks  the 
moral  sense — the  heart  recoils  from  it  and  refuses  to 
apply  the  "  hard  reason  "  upon  which  it  rests ;  the  Bible 
points  us  to  the  path  that  grows  brighter  with  the 
years. 

Darwin's  doctrine  leads  logically  to  war  and  to  the 
worship  of  Nietzsche's  "  Superman  " ;  the  Bible  tells 
us  of  the  Prince  of  Peace  and  heralds  the  coming  of 
the  glad  day  when  swords  shall  be  beaten  into  plough- 
shares and  when  nations  shall  learn  war  no  more. 


134  THE  ORIGIN  OF  MAN 

Darwin's  teachings  drag  industry  down  to  the  brute 
level  and  excite  a  savage  struggle  for  selfish  advan- 
tage; the  Bible  presents  the  claims  of  an  universal 
brotherhood  in  which  men  will  unite  their  efforts  in 
the  spirit  of  friendship. 

As  hope  deferred  maketh  the  heart  sick,  so  the 
doctrine  of  Darwin  benumbs  altruistic  effort  by  pro- 
longing indefinitely  the  time  needed  for  reforms;  the 
Bible  assures  us  of  the  triumph  of  every  righteous 
cause,  reveals  to  the  eye  of  faith  the  invisible  hosts 
that  fight  on  the  side  of  Jehovah  and  proclaims  the 
swift  fulfillment  of  God's  decrees. 

Darwinism  puts  God  far  away;  the  Bible  brings 
God  near  and  establishes  the  prayer-line  of  com- 
munication between  the  Heavenly  Father  and  His  chil- 
dren. 

Darwinism  enthrones  selfishness;  the  Bible  crowns 
love  as  the  greatest  force  in  the  world. 

Darwinism  offers  no  reason  for  existence  and  pre- 
sents no  philosophy  of  life;  the  Bible  explains  why 
man  is  here  and  gives  us  a  code  of  morals  that  fits  into 
every  human  need. 

The  great  need  of  the  world  to-day  is  to  get  back 
to  God — ^back  to  a  real  belief  in  a  living  God — to  a 
belief  in  God  as  Creator,  Preserver  and  loving 
Heavenly  Father.  When  one  believes  in  a  personal 
God  and  considers  himself  a  part  of  God's  plan  he 
will  be  anxious  to  know  God's  will  and  to  do  it,  seek- 
ing direction  through  prayer  and  made  obedient 
through  faith. 

Man  was  made  in  the  Father's  image;  he  enters 


THE  OEIGIN  OF  MAN  135 

upon  the  stage,  the  climax  of  Jehovah's  plan.  He  is 
superior  to  the  beasts  of  the  field,  greater  than  any 
other  created  thing — but  a  little  lower  than  the  angels. 
God  made  him  for  a  purpose,  placed  before  him  in- 
finite possibilities  and  revealed  to  him  responsibilities 
commensurate  with  the  possibilities.  God  beckons 
man  upward  and  the  Bible  points  the  way;  man  can 
obey  and  travel  toward  perfection  by  the  path  that 
Christ  revealed,  or  man  can  disobey  and  fall  to  a  level 
lower,  in  some  respects,  than  that  of  the  brutes  about 
him.  Looking  heavenward  man  can  find  inspiration 
in  his  lineage;  looking  about  him  he  is  impelled  to 
kindness  by  a  sense  of  kinship  which  binds  him  to 
his  brothers.  Mighty  problems  demand  his  attention; 
a  world's  destiny  is  to  be  determined  by  him.  What 
time  has  he  to  waste  in  hunting  for  "  missing  links  " 
or  in  searching  for  resemblances  between  his  forefa- 
thers and  the  ape?  In  His  Image — in  this  sign  we 
conquer. 

We  are  not  progeny  of  the  brute ;  we  have  not  been 
forced  upward  by  a  blind  pushing-power ;  neither  have 
we  tumbled  upward  by  chance.  It  is  a  drawing- 
power — ^not  a  pushing-power — that  rules  the  world — 
a  power  which  finds  its  highest  expression  in  Christ 
who  promised:  "I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth, 
will  draw  all  men  unto  me." 


V 

THE  LARGER  LIFE 

I  HAVE  chosen  this  subject  because  I  have  found 
some  young  men,  and  even  some  young  v^omen, 
who  seem  to  misunderstand  the  invitation  ex- 
tended by  the  Master.  The  call  of  the  Gospel  falls,  at 
times,  upon  deaf  ears  because  religion  is  regarded  as  a 
thing  that  is  necessary  only  when  one  comes  to  prepare 
himself  for  the  life  beyond.  In  earlier  times  many 
Christians  misinterpreted  the  Christian  religion  and, 
withdrawing  themselves  from  companionship  with 
their  fellows,  devoted  their  time  wholly  to  preparation 
of  themselves  for  heaven.  Christ  went  about  doing 
good. 

I  present  my  appeal  to  the  young  to  accept  Christ 
and  to  enter  upon  the  life  He  prescribes,  not  because 
they  may  die  soon  but  because  they  may  live.  They 
need  Christ  as  their  Saviour  now  and  they  need  Him 
as  their  guide  throughout  life.  Some  complain  of  the 
Parable  of  the  Vineyard  because  the  man  who  began 
work  at  the  eleventh  hour  received  the  same  pay  as 
those  who  toiled  all  day.  Surely,  those  who  complain 
have  not  tasted  the  joys  of  a  Christian  life.  No  one 
who  follows  the  teachings  of  Christ  will  begrudge  the 
reward  promised  to  those  who  repent  at  the  last  mo- 
ment and  are  saved.  The  eleventh-hour  Christians  are 
the  ones  to  mourn  because  they  have  lost  the  happiness 

136 


THE  LAEGER  LIFE  137 

that  they  would  have  found  in  service  during  the  Hve- 
long  day. 

Young  people  sometimes  postpone  becoming  Chris- 
tians on  the  ground  that  they  want  to  have  a  good  time 
for  a  while  longer.  Who  can  be  happier  than  the 
Christian?  Our  religion  fits  into  the  needs  of  all  of 
every  age.  If  there  are  any  amusements  enjoyed  by 
the  world  from  which  members  of  the  church  feel  it 
a  duty  to  abstain  it  is  because  more  wholesome  amuse- 
ments crowd  out  the  objectionable  ones.  It  ought  not 
to  be  necessary  to  forbid  a  Christian  to  do  harmful 
things ;  he  ought  to  avoid  them  because  he  has  no  taste 
for  them — ^because  he  finds  more  real  pleasure  and 
more  enduring  satisfaction  in  the  things  that  are  inno- 
cent and  helpful. 

There  is  another  class  to  which  I  desire  to  address 
myself  to-day,  namely,  those  who  call  themselves  more 
liberal  than  Christians — who  look  upon  our  religion  as 
narrowing  in  its  influence.  Christianity  is  the  broad- 
est of  creeds  because  it  takes  in  everything  that  touches 
human  life,  here  and  hereafter.  The  Christian  life  is 
the  most  comprehensive  life  known ;  it  is  as  deep  as  the 
heart;  it  is  as  wide  as  the  world;  and  it  is  as  high  as 
heaven. 

Paul,  the  great  Apostle,  tells  us  that  Christ  came  to 
"  bring  life  and  immortality  to  light  " — not  immortal- 
ity alone,  but  life  also,  and  the  word  Life  comes  before 
the  word  Immortality. 

But  we  have  higher  authority  even  than  Paul. 
Christ,  in  explaining  His  mission,  said,  "  I  am  come 
that  they  might  have  life,  and  that  they  might  have  it 


138  THE  LARGEE  LIFE 

more  abundantly.'*  It  is  to  the  more  abundant  life 
that  Christ  calls  us.  He  was  the  master  of  mathe- 
matics, yet  He  used  only  addition  and  multiplication; 
subtraction  has  no  place  in  His  philosophy. 

Let  me  illustrate,  as  I  see  it,  the  gift  that  Christ 
brings  to  man.  Let  us  suppose  that  the  people  living 
in  an  agricultural  section  had,  by  intelligent  cultiva- 
tion, brought  from  the  soil  all  that  it  could  yield  in 
material  wealth.  Ha  stranger  came  into  the  com- 
munity and  announced  that  the  people,  by  sinking  a 
shaft  one  hundred  feet  deep,  could  find  a  vein  of  coal, 
they  would,  if  they  believed  the  statement  true,  imme- 
diately sink  a  shaft;  and,  if  they  found  the  coal,  they 
would  add  it  to  the  wealth  that  they  derived  from  the 
surface  of  the  ground.  They  would  be  grateful  to  the 
person  who  told  them  of  the  additional  riches  which 
they  possessed  but  of  which  they  were  not  aware. 
They  might  not  think  to  thank  him  immediately — they 
might  be  too  busy  acquiring  money  to  express  their 
gratitude.  But  after  the  man  was  dead,  if  not  before, 
they  would  pause  long  enough  to  erect  a  monument  to 
testify  to  their  appreciation  of  the  service  he  had  ren- 
dered. 

And,  to  complete  the  illustration,  suppose  after  the 
people  had  adjusted  themselves  to  the  added  income, 
another  stranger  appeared  and  assured  them  that,  if 
they  would  sink  the  shaft  one  hundred  feet  deeper, 
they  would  find  a  vein  of  precious  metals  from  which 
to  draw  money  enough  to  purchase  everything  every- 
where that  the  heart  could  wish.  They  would,  if  they 
gave  credit  to  his  statement,  dig  down  and  find  gold 


THE  LAEGER  LIFE  139 

and  silver  and,  with  still  greater  joy,  add  this  new  pos- 
session to  those  that  they  already  had.  Again  they 
would  be  grateful.  They  might  not  express  them- 
selves during  the  benefactor's  life,  but  after  a  while 
visitors  to  the  community  would  see  two  monuments 
reared  by  grateful  hands  to  those  who  had  brought 
blessings  to  the  neighbourhood. 

This  illustration  presents  the  idea  that  I  would  im- 
press upon  you,  namely,  that  Christ  came  to  add  to  all 
the  good  things  man  possessed  without  requiring  the 
surrender  of  any  good  thing  in  exchange.  Long  be- 
fore the  coming  of  Christ  man  had  taken  possession  of 
the  body  and  had  gathered  from  it  all  the  joys  that  the 
flesh  can  yield.  Man  had  also  explored  the  farther 
reaches  of  the  mind  and  possessed  himself  of  the  de- 
lights of  the  intellect.  Christ  not  only  brought  re- 
demption but  opened  to  man  the  vision  of  a  spiritual 
world  and  showed  him  what  infinite  greatness  the  Fa- 
ther has  placed  within  the  reach  of  one  made  in  His 
image,  if  he  will  only  use  the  powers  that  he  has — 
powers  unknown  to  him  until  revealed  by  the  Spirit. 

Every  human  being  is  travelling  every  day  in  one 
direction  or  the  other — either  upward  toward  the  high- 
est plane  that  man  can  reach,  or  downward  toward  the 
lowest  level  to  which  man  can  fall;  Christ  gives  us  a 
vision  of  our  possibilities  and  the  strength  to  realize 
them. 

If  Christ  had  demanded  something  in  return  for  the 
great  gifts  that  He  came  to  bestow  man  might  be  justi- 
fied in  asking  for  time  for  investigation.  He  would 
want   to  weigh   the  value   of  that   which   is   offered 


140  THE  LARGER  LIFE 

against  the  value  of  that  which  must  be  given  up.  To 
do  this  intelligently  would  require  a  long  period  of 
training  and  ample  time  for  comparison.  The  diffi- 
culty is  even  greater,  for  it  would  be  impossible  for 
one  to  weigh  or  calculate  in  advance  the  value  of  those 
things  which  are  spiritually  discerned.  He  could  see 
the  body ;  he  could  comprehend  the  mind ;  but  he  could 
not  know  the  inestimable  value  of  the  things  that 
Christ  offers.  But  how  can  he  hesitate  when  Christ 
demands  not  one  single  sacrifice,  but  gives,  as  the 
spring  gives,  desiring  nothing  in  return  except  appre- 
ciation which  it  is  pleasant  to  manifest? 

The  Saviour  not  only  gives  without  reducing  the 
other  enjoyments,  but  His  gift  increases  the  value  of 
that  which  we  have.  The  body  without  control  will 
exhaust  itself — actually  wear  itself  out  in  the  very  riot 
of  pleasure.  It  is  only  when  the  body  is  the  servant  of 
a  spiritual  master  that  it  can  develop  its  greatest 
strength  and  prolong  its  vigour. 

Two  illustrations  suggest  themselves.  The  use  of 
intoxicants  has  wrought  disaster  since  man  came  upon 
the  earth.  Drink  is  not  only  ruinous  when  used  con- 
tinuously and  in  large  quantities,  but  it  is  injurious 
even  when  used  moderately.  The  life  insurance  tables 
show  that  a  young  man  who,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one, 
begins  the  regular  use  of  intoxicating  liquors,  reduces 
his  expectancy  by  more  than  ten  per  cent.,  or  more  than 
four  years  in  forty.  That  is  the  average.  In  propor- 
tion as  the  body  is  left  to  its  own  control  the  appetite 
becomes  destructive  of  the  body  itself  as  well  as  of  the 
body's  value  to  others.    Just  in  proportion  as  the  body 


THE  LAEGEE  LIFE  141 

IS  under  spiritual  control  is  it  in  position  to  enjoy  itself 
and  to  extend  the  period  of  enjoyment. 

Reference  need  hardly  be  made  to  the  diseases  that 
follow  in  the  wake  of  immorality.  The  wages  of  sin 
is  death — death  to  the  body,  death  to  the  mind  and 
death  to  the  soul.  Races  have  rotted  and  passed  into 
oblivion  because  the  body  was  put  in  command  of  the 
life.  Both  drunkenness  and  unchastity  curse  the  gen- 
erations that  follow  as  well  as  the  generations  that  are 
guilty — the  sins  of  the  fathers  and  mothers  being  vis- 
ited upon  the  children  and  children's  children. 

And  so,  too,  with  the  mind;  it  would  run  wild  but 
for  the  sovereign  soul  of  man.  There  are  temptations 
that  come  through  the  intellect — temptations  that  are 
as  destructive  as  those  that  come  through  the  body. 
Only  when  the  mind  is  guided  and  directed  by  a  spiri- 
tual conception  of  life  is  it  capable  of  its  highest  and 
noblest  work. 

The  soul  is  greater  than  the  mind  as  it  is  greater 
than  the  body.  Would  you  have  proof?  Recall  the 
days  of  the  martyrs.  What  is  it  in  man  that  can  take 
the  body  and  hold  it  in  the  fire  until  the  flames  con- 
sume the  quivering  flesh?  The  soul  of  man  that  can 
coerce  the  body  to  its  death  is  greater  than  the  body  it- 
self. And  the  soul  is  likewise  greater  than  the  mind. 
It  can  take  the  imperial  mind  of  man,  purge  it  of  van- 
ity and  egotism  and  infuse  into  it  the  spirit  of  humility 
and  a  passion  for  service.  The  soul  that  can  thus  har- 
ness the  mind  and  make  it  bear  the  burdens  of  the 
world  is  greater  than  the  mind  itself. 

Remember,  also,  that  the  spiritual  gifts  which  Jesus 


142  THE  LARGER  LIFE 

bestows  are  vastly  richer  than  all  that  man  possessed 
before.  Who  can  measure  the  value  of  salvation — the 
peace  that  comes  with  sins  forgiven  and  the  joy  of 
constant  communion  with  the  Heavenly  Father  whom 
Christ  reveals?  And,  then,  consider  the  moral  code 
that  is  revolutionizing  the  world.  I  only  have  time  to 
mention  a  few  of  the  fundamental  teachings  of  Christ. 

Christ  gave  the  world  a  new  definition  of  love. 
Husbands  had  loved  their  wives  and  wives  their  hus- 
bands; parents  had  loved  their  children,  and  children 
their  parents ;  and  friend  had  loved  friend,  but  Christ 
proclaimed  a  love  as  boundless  as  the  sea. 

Christ  founded  a  religion  and  built  a  Church  on  love 
— on  love,  the  greatest  force  in  the  world.  Love  fur- 
nishes an  armour  which  no  weapon  can  pierce.  When 
physical  warfare  is  forgotten,  love  will  still  call  its 
hosts  to  battle;  the  effort  then  will  be,  not  to  kill  one 
another  but  to  excel  in  doing  good. 

Christ  has  been  called  ''  visionary  " — ^that  is  a  fa- 
vourite word  with  those  who  pride  themselves  upon 
being  practical.  But  as  a  matter  of  fact,  one  of  the 
great  virtues  of  Christ's  teachings  is  that  they  are 
practical.  He  deals  with  the  every-day  things  of  or- 
dinary life  and  in  His  quiet  way  irons  out  difficulties 
and  makes  rough  paths  smooth.  His  philosophy  is 
easily  comprehended  and  readily  applied.  His  words 
need  no  interpretation ;  they  are  the  words  of  the  peo- 
ple, the  language  of  the  masses.  H  He  were  a  teacher 
of  rhetoric  He  would  surpass  all  other  teachers  because 
the  art  of  discourse  reaches  its  maximum  in  His  sen* 
tences. 


THE  LAEGER  LIFE  143 

The  learned  sometimes  speak  over  the  heads  of  their 
hearers,  using  words  that  are  unusual  and  long-drawn- 
out.  Jesus  talked  to  the  multitude  and  they  not  only 
understood  Him  but  ''  the  common  people  heard  him 
gladly." 

Let  me  recall  to  your  minds  just  a  few  illustrations 
of  the  simplicity  of  His  thought  and  language.  Take, 
for  instance,  the  supreme  virtue,  love,  upon  which  He 
always  places  emphasis.  Note  how  He  weaves  it  into 
human  experience. 

*' Therefore,"  He  says  (Matt.  5:23),  "if  thou  bring 
thy  gift  to  the  altar,  and  there  rememberest  that  thy 
brother  hath  aught  against  thee;  Leave  there  thy  gift 
before  the  altar  and  go  thy  way;  first  be  reconciled  to 
thy  brother." 

Reconciliation  is  preferred  to  sacrifice.  The  gift 
upon  the  altar  can  wait;  but  enmity  between  brothers 
must  have  attention  at  once.  What  infinite  woe  and 
heartache  will  be  prevented  when  this  lesson  is  learned 
and  applied  throughout  the  world.  What  untold  bless- 
ings will  be  realized  when  even  among  those  who  pro- 
fess the  name  of  Christ  it  is  always  employed.  A  word 
spoken  in  anger  has  often  cost  a  life  because  neither 
party  to  the  quarrel  was  big  enough  to  obey  the  best 
promptings  of  the  heart  and  beg  pardon.  Families 
have  been  rent  asunder;  communities  have  been  di- 
vided ;  nations  have  gone  to  war,  just  because  some  one 
lacked  the  spirit  of  the  Saviour  and  refused  the  plain 
and  easy  road  to  reconciliation.  Well  may  religious 
rites  be  suspended  for  the  moment  while  love  removes 


144  THE  LAEGER  LIFE 

offense  and  binds  together  hearts  that  were  estranged. 
We  know  that  "  To  err  is  human,"  and  we  beUeve  that 
"  To  forgive  is  divine ; "  to  ask  forgiveness  requires 
as  much  grace  as  to  forgive. 

In  his  first  epistle  (chapter  4:  2)  John  makes  a 
striking  application  of  Christ's  doctrine  of  love:  "If 
a  man  say  '  I  love  God '  and  hateth  his  brother,  he  is 
a  liar." 

These  are  harsh  v^ords  but  the  Apostle  was  dealing 
with  a  very  serious  subject,  viz.,  the  glaring  in- 
consistency between  love  of  God  and  hatred  of  a 
brother. 

There  are  many  ways  in  which  one  can  manifest  ha- 
tred of  his  brother,  and  it  must  be  remembered  that 
hatred  is  a  sin  that  is  proven  by  acts  rather  than  ad- 
mitted. First,  there  is  indifference — a  wide-spread  sin 
— and  it  is  to  be  found  inside  the  church  as  well  as 
outside.  As  love  is  a  positive  virtue,  a  failure  to  love 
is  a  violation  of  obligations.  A  participation  in  the 
services  of  the  church,  even  communion  at  the  Lord's 
Table — does  not  always  awaken  in  Christians  the  inter- 
est they  should  feel  in  each  other. 

If  I  may  be  permitted  to  illustrate  my  thought,  allow 
me  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  church  members 
are  sometimes  compelled  to  pay  cut-throat  rates  for 
short-time  loans  when  there  are  within  the  same  con- 
gregation members  who  are  loaning  at  lawful  rates  to 
non-church  members.  Does  it  not  seem  incredible  that 
the  money  of  Christians  is  available  for  the  outside 
world  and  yet  not  within  reach  of  needy  brethren  ?  It 
would  be  easy  for  each  church  to  organize  within  its 


THE  LAEGEE  LIFE  146 

membership  a  loan  society  and  use  the  money  suppHed 
by  the  well-to-do  for  the  accommodation  of  those  tem- 
porarily embarrassed.  Sometimes  the  chattel  mort- 
gage sharks  collect  one  hundred  per  cent,  or  more  and 
the  banks,  which  are  established  for  the  purpose  of 
making  small  short-time  loans,  usually  collect  twenty 
to  thirty  per  cent.  Why  should  a  church  member  be 
driven  to  these  extremities  when  the  loanable  money 
in  the  church  is  sufficient  for  all  needs  ?  Surely  church 
membership  ought  to  be  better  security  for  a  small 
amount  than  either  a  chattel  or  a  real  estate  mort- 
gage. 

Another  illustration;  the  fraternities  are  splendid 
organizations  and  are  founded  on  high  principles,  but 
the  church  might  be  expected  to  do  for  its  members 
some  of  the  work  left  to  fraternities.  They  care  for 
the  sick  and  bury  the  dead !  Is  it  not  a  reflection  on 
the  church  that  its  members  should  ever  be  compelled 
to  go  outside  for  assistance  In  such  emergencies  ? 

There  are  many  other  forms  of  indifference,  but  in- 
difference is  the  least  harmful  of  the  manifestations 
of  the  lack  of  brotherhood.  We  have  cases  of  positive 
and  deliberate  injury  practiced  against  those  who  stand 
in  the  relation  of  brothers.  We  have  had  a  riot  of 
exploitation  in  this  country;  profiteering  has  been  car- 
ried on  on  an  appalling  scale:  men  have  been  thrusting 
their  larcenous  hands  into  the  pockets  of  their  church 
brethren,  as  well  as  into  the  pockets  of  the  public. 

We  have  also  the  unequal  combat  between  the  tax- 
eater  and  the  taxpayer,  and  we  have  the  perennial 
conflict  between  the  different  groups  of  taxpavers,  each 


146  THE  LAEGER  LIFE 

trying  to  shift  the  burden  onto  the  other,  not  to  speak 
of  that  very  considerable  company  who,  for  profit,  cul- 
tivate vice  as  the  farmer  cultivates  his  crops.  All  con- 
scious and  deliberate  injustice  is  proof  of  hatred  and 
to  such  as  engage  in  such  wrong-doing  the  language  of 
John  ought  to  come  as  a  stinging  rebuke.  It  would 
work  a  revolution  in  society  as  well  as  in  the  Church  if 
all  the  members  proved  their  love  of  God  by  fair  deal- 
ing with  their  fellowmen. 

Christ  confines  Himself  usually  to  the  laying  down 
of  broad,  fundamental  principles  instead  of  supplying 
rules  and  formulae.  He  cleanses  the  heart  and  then 
gives  to  life  the  law  of  love  which  should  pervade  all 
human  relationships,  as  the  law  of  gravitation  per- 
vades the  universe.  But  the  Master  at  times  went 
from  generalities  into  details,  making  the  path  of  duty 
so  plain  that  no  one  can  excuse  himself  if  he  strays 
there  form. 

An  illustration  is  found  in  Matthew*s  Gospel,  chap- 
ter 25:  84-46. 

Then  shall  the  King  say  unto  them  on  his  right  hand, 
Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom 
prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world : 

For  I  was  an  hungered,  and  ye  gave  me  meat :  I  was 
thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  drink:  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye 
took  me  in: 

Naked,  and  ye  clothed  me :  I  was  sick,  and  ye  visited 
me :  I  was  in  prison,  and  ye  came  unto  me. 

Then  shall  the  righteous  answer  him,  saying.  Lord, 
when  saw  we  thee  an  hungered,  and  fed  thee?  or  thirsty, 
and  gave  thee  drink? 

When  saw  we  thee  a  stranger,  and  took  thee  in?  or 
naked,  and  clothed  thee? 


THE  LARGEE  LIFE  147 

Or  when  saw  we  thee  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  came 
unto  thee? 

And  the  King  shall  answer  and  say  unto  them,  Verily 
I  say  unto  you,  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of 
the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me. 

Then  shall  he  say  also  unto  them  on  the  left  hand. 
Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared 
for  the  devil  and  his  angels : 

For  I  was  an  hungered,  and  ye  gave  me  no  meat:  I 
was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  no  drink : 

I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  me  not  in:  naked,  and 
ye  clothed  me  not:  sick,  and  in  prison,  and  ye  visited 
me  not. 

Then  shall  they  also  answer  him,  saying.  Lord,  when 
saw  we  thee  an  hungered,  or  athirst,  or  a  stranger,  or 
naked,  or  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  did  not  minister  unto 
thee? 

Then  shall  he  answer  them,  saying.  Verily  I  say  unto 
you.  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  not  to  one  of  the  least  of 
these  ye  did  it  not  to  me. 

And  these  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment : 
but  the  righteous  into  life  eternal. 

No  one  should  waste  time  in  waiting  for  some  great 
opportunity  for  service ;  there  are  opportunities  every- 
where. It  is  impossible  for  man  to  render  any  service 
to  Jehovah  Himself.  There  is  nothing  that  we  can  do 
for  Him  except  to  love  Him  with  heart  and  mind  and 
soul  and  strength.  It  is  to  the  neighbour  that  we  pay 
the  debt  that  we  owe  to  the  Heavenly  Father;  it  is 
through  the  neighbour  that  we  publish  to  the  world  our 
real  selves.  This  is,  like  music,  an  universal  language 
that  all  can  understand. 

Nietzsche,  the  atheistic  philosopher,  gave  to  one  of 
his  books  the  title  "  Joyful  Wisdom  " — an  absurd  mis- 
nomer.    That  which  he  mistook  for  joy  was  the  de- 


148  THE  LARGER  LIFE 

lirium  of  an  unbalanced  mind.  The  philosophy  of 
Christ  might  with  propriety  be  called  Joyful  Wisdom; 
it  leads  one  into  the  path  of  happiness  that  is  real  and 
permanent. 

Carl  Hilty,  a  Swiss  writer,  has  published  a  book  en- 
titled "  Happiness,"  in  which  he  points  out  that,  as 
those  have  the  poorest  health  who  spend  their  time 
travelling  from  one  health  resort  to  another  looking 
for  it,  so  those  are  least  happy  who  do  nothing  but 
hunt  for  pleasure.  He  insists  that  to  be  happy  one 
must  have  employment  for  the  hands,  the  head  and  the 
heart.  The  hands  must  be  busy,  the  mind  must  be  oc- 
cupied, and  the  heart  must  be  satisfied. 

Christ  leads  His  followers  into  happiness  through 
this  route.  No  one  who  partakes  of  His  spirit  can  be 
an  idler.  The  world  is  full  of  work  awaiting  labourers ; 
the  harvest  is  ripe.  Those  who  try  to  imitate  Christ 
will  be  planning  for  the  extension  of  His  Kingdom  and 
for  the  comfort  of  God's  creatures.  The  heart  of  the 
Christian — the  center  of  life  and  love — will  find  satis- 
faction in  being  in  sympathetic  touch  with  all  that  is 
good  and  noble. 

I  have  dwelt  upon  this  point  because  the  worldly  are 
in  the  habit  of  picturing  the  Christian  life  as  gloomy 
and  forbidding.  It  is  a  libel ;  a  long-faced  Christian  is 
a  poor  Christian,  if  a  Christian  at  all.  "  Be  of  good 
cheer,"  is  a  Christian  salutation;  Christ  used  it  re- 
peatedly. In  Matthew  9:  2  He  said  to  the  man  sick 
of  the  palsy,  "  Son,  be  of  good  cheer;  thy  sins  be  for- 
given thee." 

In  Matthew  14:  27  He  quieted  the  fears  of  His  dis- 


THE  LAEGEE  LIFE  149 

ciples,  "  Be  of  good  cheer;  it  is  I;  be  not  afraid."  In 
John  16:  33  He  inspired  the  Apostles,  "Be  of  good 
cheer,  I  have  overcome  the  world." 

Here  we  have  three  of  the  greatest  sources  of  happi- 
ness— Forgiveness  of  sins:  the  presence  of  the  Saviour 
and  triumph  over  the  world. 

In  Acts  we  find  Him  using  the  same  words  in  ad- 
dressing Paul  and  later  Paul  uses  them  in  encouraging 
his  companions. 

Religion — real,  heartfelt  religion — transforms  its 
possessor.  It  moulds  the  disposition  and  disposition 
determines  expression.  No  beauty  doctor  can  make  a 
face  as  winsome  as  the  face  of  one  whose  heart  over- 
flows with  loving  kindness;  just  as  no  face  specialist 
can  impose  from  without  such  lines  of  strength  and 
intelligence  as  can  be  written  upon  it  by  the  thoughts 
that  pass  through  the  brain. 

The  Christian  life  is  the  simple  life.  Charles  Wag- 
ner sounded  a  note  that  echoed  around  the  world  when, 
some  two  decades  ago,  he  issued  his  eloquent  protest 
against  the  burdensome  complexities  of  modern  life. 
He  made  a  plea  for  the  natural  life  in  which  each  indi- 
vidual will  be  his  own  master  instead  of  being  the  serv- 
ant of  his  possessions.  Wagner's  book,  though  first 
published  in  Paris,  had  a  larger  circulation  in  the 
United  States  than  in  any  other  nation — not  because 
our  people  have  wandered  farther  than  others  into  ar- 
tificial social  forms,  but  because  they  are  sensitive  to 
high  ideals  and  free  to  reject  harmful  customs. 

Social  intercourse  should  be  an  expression  of  friend- 
ship, and  friendship  is  both  embarrassed  and  obscured 


160  THE  LAEGER  LIFE 

by  vulgar  display.  The  home  should  be  a  place  of 
rest,  where  congenial  spirits  can  gather  for  commu- 
nion. There  is  nothing  edifying  or  satisfying  in  the 
mere  comparing  of  apparel.  The  aim  of  entertainment 
should  be  to  refresh  the  guest  and  stimulate  friend- 
ship; the  end  is  defeated  by  a  rivalry  in  extravagance 
that  awakens  concern  as  to  one's  ability  to  return  cour- 
tesies extended.  The  increasing  costliness  of  social 
functions  not  only  robs  entertainment  of  the  enjoy- 
ment that  it  is  intended  to  bring,  but  it  leads  many 
young  couples  to  ruin  themselves  financially  in  an  ef- 
fort to  keep  up  appearances  and  pay  their  social  debts. 
It  is  impossible  to  calculate  the  benefit  which  would  be 
brought  to  the  social  world  if  Christ's  spirit  could 
pervade  it  and  infuse  into  it  a  wholesome  sincerity  and 
frankness.  Christ  put  the  accent  on  the  things  that 
are  worthy  and  banished  the  shallow  pretenses  upon 
which  so  much  time  is  wasted  and  so  much  money 
squandered. 

Christ  gave  the  world  a  balm  for  that  worry  that  is 
more  wearing  than  work.  He  condemned  the  petty 
vanities  and  irritating  anxieties.  He  taught  a  perfect 
trust  that  leads  one  to  do  his  best  and  then  leave  the  re- 
sult with  the  Heavenly  Father  who  is  ever  near  and 
always  ready  to  give  good  gifts  to  His  children. 

In  Matthew  6,  we  find  this  soothing  rebuke: 

Therefore  I  say  unto  you,  Take  no  thought  for  your 
life,  what  ye  shall  eat,  or  what  ye  shall  drink;  nor  yet 
for  your  body,  what  ye  shall  put  on.  Is  not  the  life  more 
than  meat,  and  the  body  than  raiment  ?  Behold  the  fowls 
of  the  air:  for  they  sow  not,  neither  do  they  reap,  nor 


THE  LARGER  LIFE  151 

gather  into  barns;  yet  your  Heavenly  Father  feedeth 
fliem.  Are  ye  not  much  better  than  they?  Which  of 
you  by  taking  thought  can  add  one  cubit  unto  his  stature  ? 
And  why  take  ye  thought  for  raiment?  Consider  the 
lihes  of  the  field,  how  they  grow:  they  toil  not,  neither 
do  they  spin :  And  yet  I  say  unto  you,  That  even  Solomon 
in  all  his  glory  was  not  arrayed  like  one  of  these. 
Wherefore,  if  God  so  clothe  the  grass  of  the  field,  which 
to-day  is,  and  to-morrow  is  cast  into  the  oven,  shall  he 
not  much  more  clothe  you,  O  ye  of  little  faith  ? 

Reasoning  unansv^erable.  He  argues  from  the  less 
to  the  greater  and  with  incomparable  beauty  woos  man 
away  from  the  distracting  thoughts  that  dissipate  his 
strength  without  yielding  him  any  advantage.  The 
Creator  who  cares  for  the  birds  will  not  forget  man 
made  in  His  image;  He  who  clothes  the  fields  in  the 
beauty  of  the  flower  and  gives  to  the  trembling  blade 
of  grass  the  nourishment  that  it  needs  for  its  fleeting 
day,  will  not  desert  man,  His  supreme  handiwork. 

"  Sufiicient  unto  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof,"  is  a  re- 
buke aimed  at  those  who  borrow  trouble.  Let  not  the 
past  distress  you — it  has  gone  beyond  recall;  let  not 
the  morrow  intrude  upon  you — it  will  bring  its  cargo 
of  cares  when  it  comes.  Man  lives  in  the  present  and 
can  claim  only  the  moment  as  it  passes,  but  Christ 
teaches  him  how  to  so  use  each  hour  as  to  make  the 
days  that  are  gone  an  echoing  delight  and  the  days  that 
are  yet  to  come  a  radiant  hope. 

Christ  has  been  called  a  sentimentalist.  Let  it  be 
admitted;  it  is  no  reproach.  He  is  the  inexhaustible 
source  of  sentiment,  and  sentiment  rules  the  world. 
"  The  dreamer  lives  forever ;  the  toiler  dies  in  a  day." 


152  THE  LAEGEE  LIFE 

A  striking  illustration  of  the  emphasis  that  Christ 
placed  upon  sentiment  is  found  in  Matthew  26:  7-13: 

There  came  unto  him  a  woman  having  an  alabaster  box 
of  very  precious  ointment,  and  poured  it  on  his  head,  as 
he  sat  at  meat.  But  when  his  disciples  saw  it,  they  had 
indignation,  saying,  To  what  purpose  is  this  waste  ?  For 
this  ointment  might  have  been  sold  for  much,  and  given 
to  the  poor.  When  Jesus  understood  it,  he  said  unto 
them.  Why  trouble  ye  the  woman  ?  for  she  hath  wrought 
a  good  work  upon  me.  For  ye  have  the  poor  always 
with  you,  but  me  ye  have  not  always.  For  in  that  she 
hath  poured  this  ointment  on  my  body,  she  did  it  for  my 
burial.  Verily  I  say  unto  you.  Wheresoever  this  gospel 
shall  be  preached  in  the  whole  world,  there  shall  also  this, 
that  this  woman  hath  done,  be  told  for  a  memorial  of  her. 

Eight  verses  devoted  to  an  alabaster  box  of  oint- 
ment! This  is  more  space  than  was  given  to  many 
incidents  seemingly  more  important,  and  at  the  very 
crisis  of  His  career,  too.  But  who  will  estimate  the 
value  of  this  narrative? 

Judas  complained  that  it  was  an  inexcusable  waste  of 
money — Judas,  the  thief,  as  Mark  calls  him,  pretended 
concern  about  the  poor.  The  poor  have  received  im- 
measurably more  from  the  use  made  of  this  ointment 
than  they  would  have  received  had  it  been  sold  and  the 
proceeds  distributed  then.  It  was  an  expression  of 
love,  and  love  is  the  treasury  box  from  which  the  poor 
can  always  draw.  That  box  of  ointment  has  spread 
its  fragrance  over  nineteen  hundred  years.  Give  a 
man  bread  and  he  hungers  again;  give  him  clothing 
and  his  clothing  will  wear  out ;  but  give  him  an  ideal — 
something  to  look  up  to  through  life — and  it  will  be 


THE  LARGER  LIFE  153 

with  him  through  every  waking  hour  lifting  him  to  a 
higher  plane  and  filling  his  life  with  the  beauty  and 
the  bounty  of  service.  The  money  spent  for  a  loaf  of 
bread  may  stay  the  pangs  of  hunger  for  a  few  brief 
hours,  but  the  same  amount  invested  in  the  *'  bread  of 
life  "  will  give  one  an  inexhaustible  feast.  A  drink  of 
water  refreshes  for  the  moment ;  the  same  amount  in- 
vested in  the  "  water  of  life  "  may  make  of  one  a 
spring  overflowing  with  blessings. 

A  Bible  costs  a  few  cents  and  yet  upon  it  may  be 
built  a  life  that  is  worth  millions  to  the  human  race. 
It  was  a  Bible  that  made  William  Ewart  Gladstone  for 
a  generation  the  world's  greatest  Christian  statesman ; 
it  was  a  Bible  that  made  Jose  Rodrigues  for  a  quarter 
of  a  century  the  greatest  moral  force  in  Brazil.  The 
Bible  has  given  us  great  leaders  in  the  United  States. 
It  is  the  Bible  that  has  sent  missionaries  throughout 
the  world  to  plant  in  little  communities  everywhere  the 
teachings  of  the  greatest  of  sentimentalists — and,  at 
the  same  time,  the  most  practical  of  philosophers. 
Christ  has  taught  us  the  true  value  of  those  things 
which  touch  the  heart  and,  through  the  heart,  move 
the  world. 

"  Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto  me ; "  Christ 
used  the  child  to  admonish  those  older  grown.  The 
Church  is  following  in  His  footsteps  when  it  makes 
the  child  the  subject  of  constant  thought  and  solicitude. 
It  is  when  we  deal  with  the  child  that  we  get  the  clearest 
conception  of  the  superiority  of  faith  over  reason.  The 
foundations  of  character  are  laid  in  faith  and  not  in 
reason ;  they  are  laid  before  the  reason  can  be  accepted 


154  THE  LAEGEE  LIFE 

as  a  guide.  No  one  who  exalts  reason  above  faith 
can  lead  a  child  to  God,  but  a  child  can  understand 
the  love  of  the  Saviour  and  the  tender  care  of  the 
Heavenly  Father.  For  this  reason  the  Sunday  school 
increases  in  importance.  Its  lessons  build  character; 
its  songs  echo  throughout  our  lives. 

The  law  arbitrarily  fixes  the  age  of  twenty-one  as 
the  age  of  legal  maturity.  No  matter  how  precocious 
a  young  man  be,  the  presumption  of  law  is  against 
his  intelligence  until  he  is  twenty-one.  He  cannot 
vote;  he  cannot  make  a  valid  deed  to  a  piece  of  land. 
Why?  His  reason  is  not  mature,  and  yet  the  moral 
principles  that  control  his  life  are  implanted  before 
he  reaches  that  age.  His  ideals  come  into  his  life  long 
before  the  reason  can  be  regarded  as  a  safe  guide. 
Before  the  reason  is  mature  he  believes  in  God  or  has 
rejected  God.  If  he  lives  in  a  Christian  community 
he  has  accepted  the  Bible  as  the  Word  of  God  or 
rejected  it  as  the  work  of  man;  if  he  is  acquainted 
with  Christ  he  has  accepted  or  rejected  Him.  A 
child's  heart  cannot  remain  a  vacuum.  It  is  filled  with 
reverence  or  irreverence.  Those  who  think  that 
the  mind  can  remain  unbiassed  until  one  becomes 
of  age  and  then  be  able  to  render  impartial  decisions, 
know  little  of  human  experience.  Love  comes  first, 
reason  afterward ;  the  child  obeys  and  later  learns  why 
It  should  obey.  Morality  rests  upon  religion  and  re- 
ligion, taking  hold  upon  the  heart,  exercises  a  control 
far  greater  than  any  logic  can  exercise  over  the  mind. 

Look  back  over  your  lives  and  see  how  much  of  real 
moral  principle  you  have  added  since  you  became  of 


THE  LAEGER  LIFE  165 

age.  You  can  better  explain  your  faith;  your  will  is 
more  firm,  your  determination  more  deeply  rooted,  but 
what  new  seed  of  morality  has  been  sown  since  you 
reached  the  age  when  the  reason  is  presumed  to  be 
mature  ? 

While  Christianity  builds  upon  the  affirmations  of 
the  New  Testament  and  the  positive  virtues  taught  by 
the  Saviour  it  is  loyal,  as  Christ  was,  to  the  Com- 
mandments which  God  gave  to  the  people  through 
Moses.  Most  of  these  commandments — those  rela- 
tive to  man's  duty  to  man — are  written  unto  the 
statutes  of  state  and  nation;  they  form  the  basis  of 
our  laws.  Those  which  relate  to  man's  duty  to  God 
and  which  are  not,  therefore,  legally  binding  are  bind- 
ing on  the  conscience  of  Christians. 

The  Christian  Church  from  its  earliest  beginnings 
has  enforced  respect  for  parents.  Parental  authority 
is  not  only  essential  to  the  child's  welfare  during  youth 
but  it  is  necessary  as  a  foundation  upon  which  to  build 
respect  for  government  and  for  laws.  The  Christian 
home  is  the  nursery  of  the  State  as  well  as  of  the 
Church.  Loyalty  to  God  and  loyalty  to  government 
are  easily  learned  by  those  who  from  infancy  are 
taught  obedience  to  those  who  have  the  right  to  in- 
struct and  direct. 

The  Christian  Church  stands  also  for  Sabbath  ob- 
servance. The  right  to  worship  God  according  to  the 
dictates  of  one's  conscience  is  an  inalienable  right  and 
any  attempt  to  interfere  with  the  full  and  free  exercise 
of  this  right  would  and  should  arouse  universal  pro- 
test.   Those  who  do  not  worship  at  all  have  no  fear 


156  THE  LARGER  LIFE 

of  molestation,  but  freedom  of  conscience  is  not  in- 
terfered with  by  laws  that  provide  opportunity  for 
rest  and  guarantee  leisure  for  worship. 

Man's  body  needs  relaxation  from  toil  and  man's 
mind  needs  leisure  as  well.  These  needs  are  so  obvious 
that  they  are  universally  admitted.  The  spiritual  na- 
ture requires  refreshment  also  and  this  need  is  as  im- 
perative as  the  needs  of  body  and  brain.  As  the  spir- 
itual man  is  the  dominant  force  in  life  and  the  meas- 
ure of  the  individual's  usefulness,  the  nation  cannot 
be  less  concerned  about  the  people's  spiritual  growth 
and  welfare  than  about  their  health  and  intellectual 
strength. 

It  is  both  natural  and  proper  that  the  day  which  is 
observed  religiously  by  the  general  public  should  be 
selected  as  the  day  of  rest  also,  respect  being  shown 
to  those  who  conscientiously  observe  another  day. 
Differences  of  opinion  may  exist  in  different  localities 
as  to  what  should  be  permitted  on  the  Sabbath  day, 
but  experience  has  supported  two  propositions:  first, 
that  every  citizen  should  be  guaranteed  time  for  rest 
and  for  worship,  and,  second,  that  every  citizen  should 
be  guaranteed  the  peace  and  qtiiet  necessary  for  both 
rest  and  worship. 

Here,  as  in  nearly  every  other  issue  that  concerns 
human  welfare,  the  controversy  is  not  between  those 
who  differ  in  opinions  as  to  what  is  right  and  proper 
but  between  those,  on  the  one  side,  who  have  a  pe- 
cuniary interest  in  the  promotion  of  things  which  are 
objectionable,  and  those,  on  the  other,  who  seek  to 
promote  the  common  good.    In  other  words,  it  is  the 


THE  LARGEE  LIFE  157 

old  conflict  between  money  and  morals:  between  self- 
ishness and  the  public  weal. 

While  Christ  was  all  love  and  all  compassion  and 
all  tenderness  He  never  hesitated  to  draw  the  line 
and  draw  it  rigidly  against  folly  as  well  as  against  sin. 
The  parable  of  the  Ten  Virgins  is  a  case  in  point. 
Five  were  wise  and  five  were  foolish,  the  evidence  of 
the  difference  being  found  in  the  fact  that  five  were 
prudent  enough  to  supply  themselves  with  oil  sufficient 
for  an  emergency.  The  other  five,  lacking  wisdom, 
took  only  the  oil  that  they  could  carry  in  their  lamps. 
When  the  need  came  the  foolish  turned  to  the  wise 
and  said,  '*  Give  us  of  your  oil,"  but  the  wise  refused 
lest  they  should  not  have  enough  for  themselves  and 
the  others.  Were  they  censured?  No.  The  parable 
teaches  one  of  the  most  important  lessons  to  be  learned 
in  life,  namely,  that  the  foolish  cannot  be  saved  from 
punishment.  It  is  punishment  that  converts  folly  into 
wisdom  and  saves  the  world  from  a  race  of  fools. 

The  parable  has  wide-spread  application.  The 
foolish  parent  cannot  be  saved  from  the  sorrow  in- 
flicted by  a  spoiled  child;  the  idle  cannot  be  saved  from 
hunger  and  want;  the  lazy  cannot  be  given  the  re- 
wards of  the  diligent.  The  success  that  attends  effort 
and  rewards  character  cannot  be  awarded  to  the  un- 
deserving without  paralyzing  all  the  incentives  to  vir- 
tue and  industry.  Christ  came  not  to  destroy  the  law 
— either  that  revealed  in  the  Word  of  God  or  that 
which  was  written  on  nature — He  came  to  fulfill.  In 
the  brief  years  that  He  taught  His  disciples  and  the 
multitude  He  quoted  the  law  and  illustrated  it.     He 


158  THE  LARGER  LIFE 

did  not  come  to  relieve  men  of  responsibility — He 
came  to  light  the  way — "  That  they  might  have  life 
and  that  they  might  have  it  more  abundantly." 

Christ's  doctrines  are  not  limited  in  time  or  to  num- 
bers. They  apply  to  everybody  and  last  for  all  time. 
Paul,  in  Romans  12:  20,  interprets  the  Master's 
teachings  and  applies  them.  "Therefore,  if  thine 
enemy  hunger,  feed  him;  if  he  thirst,  give  him 
drink:  for  in  so  doing  thou  shalt  heap  coals  of  fire 
on  his  head."  How  different  this  way  of  dealing  from 
the  way  the  carnal  man  acts,  and  yet  who  can  question 
the  wisdom  of  the  Saviour's  plan?  Hatred  begets 
hatred;  retaliation  invites  retaliation  and  the  feud 
grows.  The  mountains  of  Kentucky  have  furnished 
numerous  illustrations  of  the  futility  of  revenge. 
Families  were  arrayed  against  families  and  sons  took 
up  inherited  hatreds  and  died  violent  deaths  bequeath- 
ing the  spirit  of  revenge  to  their  descendants. 

We  see  the  same  false  philosophy  at  work  among 
nations.  One  war  lays  the  foundation  for  another; 
generation  after  generation  is  sworn  to  avenge  the 
crimes  of  preceding  generations;  and  much  of  it  is 
done  in  the  name  of  patriotism  and  glorified  as  if  it 
were  service  to  the  country. 

Paul  gives  us  the  remedy  and  it  is  based  upon  the 
injunction  that  Jesus  gave,  namely,  Love  your 
enemies.  Feeding  an  enemy  is  more  effective  than 
threats  of  punishment.  It  is  a  manifestation  of  love, 
and  love  is  the  weapon  for  which  there  is  no  shield. 
The  philosophy  that  Paul  applies  to  the  individual  is 
just  as  effective  when  applied  to  larger  groups.     Na- 


THE  LAEGEE  LIFE  169 

tlons  that  have  been  at  war  cannot  be  reconciled  by 
the  methods  of  war.  They  can  be  suppressed  by  force 
but  unless  won  by  friendship  there  can  be  no  reunion. 

Paul  concludes  this  chapter  with  a  command  **  Be 
not  overcome  of  evil,  but  overcome  evil  with  good." 
There  never  was  a  time  in  the  world's  history  when 
this  kind  of  doctrine  was  more  imperatively  needed 
for  the  healing  of  the  wounds  of  the  unprecedented 
conflict  through  which  the  world  has  passed.  Christ 
has  a  remedy:  Let  the  wrongs  of  the  past  be  forgiven 
and  forgotten;  let  the  world  be  invited  to  build  on 
friendship  and  cooperation.  Let  the  rivalry  be  in  the 
showing  of  magnanimity.  Who  dares  to  say  that  the 
plan  will  fail?  The  alternative  policy  has  failed  and 
failed  miserably.  Why  not  employ  the  only  untried 
remedy  for  the  ills  which  afflict  civilization? 

And  the  gifts  of  the  Man  of  GaHlee  are  permanent; 
they  survive  the  tomb.  As  one  nears  the  end  of  life 
he  becomes  conscious  of  an  inner  longing  to  attach 
himself  to  institutions  that  will  outlive  him.  His  af- 
fections having  gone  out  to  his  fellows,  and  his  heart 
having  entwined  itself  with  the  causes  that  embrace 
all  humankind,  he  does  not  like  to  drop  out  and  be 
forgotten.  His  sympathies  expand  and  sympathy  is 
the  real  blood  of  the  heart,  forced  by  the  pulsations  of 
that  major  organ  through  all  the  arteries  of  society. 
Have  you  thought  how  few  of  each  generation  are 
remembered  after  death  by  any  one  outside  of  a  small 
circle  of  friends?  We  have  an  hundred  millions  of 
people  living  in  the  largest  republic  in  history — one 
of  the  greatest  nations  the  world  has  ever  known — and 


160  THE  LAEGER  LIFE 

yet  how  many  names  will  survive  for  a  century  after 
those  who  bore  the  names  are  buried?  The  vanity  of 
man  is  rebuked  by  a  visit  to  any  old,  neglected  ceme- 
tery.   As  Bryant  puts  it 

"  The  world  will  laugh  when  thou  art  gone 
And  solemn  brood  of  care  plod  on 
And  each  one  as  before  will  chase  his  favourite 
phantom/' 

It  is  partly  to  escape  this  dread  oblivion  that  men 
and  women,  blessed  with  means,  endow  hospitals  and 
colleges  and  charitable  institutions.  They  yearn  for 
an  immortality  on  earth  as  well  as  in  the  world  be- 
yond, and  nothing  but  the  spiritual  has  promise  of 
the  life  everlasting. 

If  we  examine  our  expense  accounts  we  will  be 
ashamed  to  note  how  large  a  proportion  of  our  money 
we  spend  on  the  body.  We  buy  it  the  food  that  it 
most  enjoys,  and  the  raiment  that  most  adorns  it;  we 
give  it  habitations  of  comfort  and  beauty,  and  yet  the 
body  is  responsible  for  most  of  our  easily  besetting 
sins  and  its  aches  and  pains  fill  life  with  much  of  its 
misery.  We  spend  the  first  twenty  years  of  life  in  an 
effort  to  develop  the  body,  the  second  twenty  years 
of  life  in  an  effort  to  keep  it  in  a  state  of  health  and 
twenty  more  trying  to  preserve  it  from  decline,  and 
then  the  threescore  years  have  passed.  And,  no  mat- 
ter how  successful  we  may  be  in  lifting  the  body  to- 
ward physical  perfection,  we  have  no  assurance  that 
any  physical  perfection  can  be  made  use  of  in  the 
world  above.    I  believe  in  the  resurrection  of  the  body, 


THE  LARGEE  LIFE  161 

but  I  have  not  spent  much  time  during  the  later  years 
in  worrying  about  what  particular  body  I  shall  have 
over  there.  According  to  the  scientists  the  body 
changes  every  seven  years.  If  that  be  true,  I  have 
done  little  more  than  exchange  an  old  body  for  a  new 
one  during  the  more  than  sixty  years  that  I  have 
lived.  I  had  a  baby  body  and  a  boy's  body,  then  the 
body  of  a  young  man,  and  so  on  until  I  am  now  well 
along  with  my  ninth  body.  I  do  not  know  which  one 
of  these  will  be  best  for  me  in  the  next  world,  but  I 
know  that  the  God  who  made  this  world  and  gave  me 
an  existence  in  it  will  give  me,  in  the  land  beyond,  the 
body  that  will  best  serve  me  there. 

Neither  have  we  any  assurance  that  the  perfections 
of  the  mind  survive  the  day  of  death.  We  spend  a 
great  deal  of  time  on  the  mind,  for  this  is  an  age  of 
intellectual  enthusiasm.  My  experience  has  not  been 
different  from  the  experience  of  others.  My  mother 
taught  me  at  home  until  I  w^as  ten;  then  my  parents 
sent  me  to  the  public  school  until  I  was  fifteen;  then  I 
spent  two  years  in  an  academy  preparing  for  college; 
then  four  years  in  college  and  then  two  years  in  a  law 
school.  After  nearly  twenty  years  of  schooling  I  took 
part  in  my  last  "  Commencement,"  and  then  I  began 
to  learn,  and  have  been  learning  ever  since.  I  have 
accumulated  something  of  history,  something  of 
science,  a  bit  of  poetry  and  philosophy,  and  I  have 
read  speeches  without  number.  I  have  accumulated 
a  large  amount  of  information  on  politics  and  poli- 
ticians that  I  know  I  shall  not  need  in  Heaven,  if 
Heaven  is  half  as  good  a  place  as  I  expect  it  to  be. 


162  THE  LAEGEB  LIFE 

How  much  of  the  intellectual  wealth  that  we  have  so 
laboriously  acquired  can  we  carry  with  us?  We  do 
not  know. 

But  we  know  that  that  which  is  spiritual  does  not 
die — that  the  heart  virtues  will  accompany  us  when 
we  enter  the  future  life.  In  the  parable  of  the  Tares, 
Christ  explains  that,  just  as  the  tares  and  the  wheat 
grow  together  until  the  harvest,  so  the  righteous  and 
the  unrighteous  live  together  in  this  world,  but  that  on 
the  day  of  judgment  they  shall  be  separated.  Then 
shall  the  righteous  "  shine  forth  as  the  sun  in  the  king- 
dom of  their  Father."  We  have  no  promise  that  the 
body  will  shine  even  as  a  star,  or  that  the  mind  will 
shine  even  as  one  of  the  planets,  but  the  sun  in  its 
splendour  is  used  to  illustrate  the  brightness  with 
which  those  will  shine  who  are  counted  righteous  in 
that  day. 

I  esteem  it  a  privilege  to  be  permitted  to  present 
the  claims  of  the  Larger  Life  to  which  Jesus,  the 
Christ,  calls  all  of  the  children  of  men.  Why  will  one 
choose  a  life  that  is  small  and  contracted,  when  there 
is  within  his  reach  the  life  that  is  full  and  complete — 
the  Larger  Life?  Why  will  he  be  content  with  the 
pleasures  of  the  body  and  the  joys  of  the  mind  when 
he  can  have  added  to  them  the  delights  of  the  spirit? 
How  can  he  delay  acceptance  of  Christ's  offer  to  en- 
noble that  which  he  has,  and  to  add  to  it  the  things 
that  are  highest  and  best  and  most  enduring?  This 
is  the  life  that  Christ  brought  to  light  when  He  came 
that  men  might  have  life  and  have  it  more  abundantly. 


VI 
THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SOUL 

THE  fact  that  Christ  dealt  with  this  subject  is 
proof  conclusive  that  it  is  important,  for  He 
never  dealt  v^ith  trivial  things.  When 
Christ  focused  attention  upon  a  theme  it  was  because 
it  was  worthy  of  consideration — and  Christ  weighed 
the  soul.  He  presented  the  subject,  too,  with  surpass- 
ing force;  no  one  will  ever  add  to  what  He  said. 
Christ  used  the  question  to  give  emphasis  to  the 
thought  which  He  presented  in  regard  to  the  soul's 
value. 

On  one  side  He  put  the  world  and  all  that  the  world 
can  contain — all  the  wealth  that  one  can  accumulate, 
all  the  fame  to  which  one  can  aspire,  and  all  the  hap- 
piness that  one  can  covet;  and  on  the  other  side  He 
put  the  soul,  and  asked  the  question  that  has  come 
ringing  down  the  centuries :  "  What  shall  it  profit  a 
man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own 
soul?" 

There  is  no  compromise  here — no  partial  statement 
of  the  matter.  He  leaves  us  to  write  one  term  of  the 
equation  ourselves.  He  gives  us  all  the  time  we  de- 
sire, and  allows  the  imagination  to  work  to  the  limit, 
and  when  we  have  gathered  together  into  one  sum  all 
things  but  the  soul.  He  asks — What  if  you  gain  it  all 
— ALL — 'ALL,  and  lose  the  soul  ?    What  is  the  profit  ? 

163 


164  THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SOUL 

Some  have  thought  the  soul  question  a  question  of 
the  next  world  only,  but  it  is  a  question  of  this  world 
also;  some  have  thought  the  soul  question  a  Sabbath- 
day  question  only,  but  it  is  a  week-day  question  as 
well;  some  have  thought  the  soul  question  a  question 
for  the  ministers  alone,  but  it  is  a  question  which  we 
all  must  meet.  Every  day  and  every  week,  every 
month  and  every  year,  from  the  time  we  reach  the 
period  of  accountability  until  we  die,  we — each  of  us 
— all  of  us,  weigh  the  soul;  and  just  in  proportion  as 
we  put  the  soul  above  all  things  else  we  build  char- 
acter ;  the  moment  we  allow  the  soul  to  become  a  mat- 
ter of  merchandise,  we  start  on  the  downward  way. 

Tolstoy  says  that  if  you  would  investigate  the 
career  of  a  criminal  it  is  not  sufficient  to  begin  with 
the  commission  of  a  crime;  that  you  must  go  back  to 
that  day  in  his  life  when  he  deUberately  trampled 
upon  his  conscience  and  did  that  which  he  knew  to  be 
wrong.  And  so  with  all  of  us,  the  turning  point  in 
the  life  is  the  day  when  we  surrender  the  soul  for 
something  that  for  the  time  being  seems  more  desir- 
able. 

Most  of  the  temptations  that  come  to  us  to  sell  the 
soul  come  in  connection  with  the  getting  of  money. 
The  Bible  says,  "  The  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all 
evil."  Or,  as  the  Revised  Version  gives  it,  "A  root 
of  all  kinds  of  evil." 

Because  so  many  of  our  temptations  come  through 
the  love  of  money  and  the  effort  to  obtain  it,  it  is 
worth  while  to  consider  the  laws  of  accumulation. 
We  must  all  have  money ;  we  need  food  and  clothing 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SOUL  166 

and  shelter,  and  money  is  necessary  for  the  purchase 
of  these  things.  Money  is  not  an  evil  in  itself — 
money  is,  in  fact,  a  very  useful  servant.  It  is  bad 
only  when  it  becomes  the  master,  and  the  love  of  it  is 
hurtful  only  because  it  can,  and  often  does,  crowd 
out  the  love  of  nobler  things. 

But  since  we  must  all  use  money  and  must  in  our 
active  days  store  up  money  for  the  days  when  our 
strength  fails,  let  us  see  if  we  can  agree  upon  God's 
law  of  rewards.  (See  lecture  on  "  His  Government 
and  Peace.") 

How  much  money  can  a  man  rightfully  collect  from 
society?  Surely,  there  can  be  no  disagreement  here. 
He  cannot  rightfully  collect  more  than  he  honestly 
earns.  If  a  man  collects  more  than  he  earns,  he  col- 
lects what  somebody  else  has  earned,  and  we  call  it 
stealing  if  a  man  takes  that  which  belongs  to  an- 
other. Not  only  is  a  man  limited  in  his  collection  of 
what  he  honestly  earns,  but  will  an  honest  man  desire 
to  collect  more  than  he  earns? 

If  a  man  cannot  rightfully  collect  more  than  he 
honestly  earns,  it  is  then  a  matter  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance to  know  how  much  money  a  man  can  hon- 
estly earn.  I  venture  an  answer  to  this,  namely,  that 
a  man  cannot  honestly  earn  more  than  fairly  measures 
the  value  of  the  service  which  he  renders  to  society. 
I  cannot  conceive  of  any  way  of  earning  money  except 
to  give  to  society  a  service  equivalent  in  value  to  the 
money  collected.  This  is  a  fundamental  proposition 
and  it  is  important  that  it  should  be  clearly  understood, 
for  if  one  desires  to  collect  largely  from  society  he 


166  THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SOUL 

must  be  prepared  to  render  a  large  service  to  society; 
and  our  schools  and  colleges,  our  churches  and  all 
other  organizations  for  the  improvement  of  man  have 
for  one  of  their  chief  objects  the  enlargement  of  the 
capacity  for  service. 

There  is  an  apparent  exception  in  the  case  of  an  in- 
heritance, but  it  is  not  a  real  exception,  for  if  the  man 
who  leaves  the  money  has  honestly  earned  it,  he  has 
already  given  society  a  service  of  equivalent  value  and, 
therefore,  has  a  right  to  distribute  it.  And  money 
received  by  inheritance  is  either  payment  for  service 
already  rendered,  or  payment  in  advance  for  service  to 
be  rendered.  No  right-minded  person  will  accept 
money,  even  by  inheritance,  without  recognizing  the 
obligation  it  imposes  to  render  a  service  in  return. 
This  service  is  not  always  rendered  to  the  one  from 
whom  this  money  is  received,  but  often  to  society  in 
general.  In  fact,  most  of  the  blessings  which  we  re- 
ceive come  to  us  in  such  a  way  that  we  cannot  dis- 
tinguish the  donors  and  must  make  our  return  to  the 
whole  public.  If  one  is  not  compelled  to  work  for 
himself  he  has  the  larger  pleasure  of  working  for  the 
public. 

But  I  need  not  dwell  upon  this,  because  in  this  coun- 
try more  than  anywhere  else  in  the  world  we  appre- 
ciate the  dignity  of  labour  and  understand  that  it  is 
honourable  to  serve.  And  yet  there  is  room  for  im- 
provement, for  all  over  our  land  there  are,  scattered 
here  and  there,  young  men  and  young  women — and 
even  parents — ^who  still  think  that  it  is  more  respect- 
able for  a  young  man  to  spend  in  idleness  the  money 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SOUL  167 

some  one  else  has  earned  than  to  be  himself  a  pro- 
ducer of  wealth.  As  long  as  this  sentiment  is  to  be 
found  anywhere  there  is  educational  work  to  be  done, 
for  public  opinion  will  never  be  what  it  ought  to  be 
until  it  puts  the  badge  of  disgrace  upon  the  idler,  no 
matter  how  rich  he  may  be,  rather  than  upon  the 
man  who  with  brain  or  muscle  contributes  to  the  Na- 
tion's wealth,  the  Nation's  strength  and  the  Nation's 
progress. 

But,  as  I  said,  the  inheritance  is  an  apparent,  not  an 
actual,  exception,  and  we  will  return  to  the  original 
proposition — that  one's  earnings  must  be  measured  by 
the  service  rendered.  This  is  so  vital  a  proposition 
that  I  beg  leave  to  dwell  upon  it  a  moment  longer,  to 
ask  whether  it  is  possible  to  fix  in  dollars  and  cents  a 
maximum  limit  to  the  amount  one  can  earn  in  a  life- 
time. 

Let  us  begin  with  one  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
If  we  estimate  a  working  life  at  thirty-three  and  one- 
third  years — and  I  think  this  is  a  fair  estimate — a 
man  must  earn  three  thousand  dollars  per  year  on  an 
average  for  thirty-three  and  one-third  years  to  earn 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  a  lifetime.  I  take  it 
for  granted  that  no  one  will  deny  that  it  is  possible 
for  one  to  earn  this  sum  by  rendering  a  service  equal 
to  it  in  value,  but  what  shall  we  say  of  a  million 
dollars?  Can  a  man  earn  that  much?  To  do  so  he 
must  earn  thirty  thousand  dollars  a  year  for  thirty- 
three  and  one-third  years.  Is  it  possible  for  one  to 
render  so  large  a  service?  I  believe  it  is.  Well,  what 
shall  we  say  of  ten  millions?    To  earn  that  much  one 


168  THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SOUL 

must  earn  on  an  average  three  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars a  year  for  thirty-three  and  one-third  years.  Is  it 
possible  for  one  to  render  a  service  so  large  as  to  earn 
so  vast  a  sum?  At  the  risk  of  shocking  some  of 
my  radical  friends  I  am  going  to  affirm  that  it  is  pos- 
sible. 

But  can  one  earn  an  hundred  million?  Yes,  I  be- 
lieve that  it  is  even  possible  to  serve  society  to  such 
an  extent  as  to  earn  a  hundred  million  in  the  span  of 
a  human  life,  or  an  average  of  three  million  a  year  for 
thirty-three  and  one-third  years.  We  have  one  man 
in  this  country  who  is  said  to  be  worth  five  hundred 
million.  To  earn  five  hundred  million  one  must  earn 
on  an  average  fifteen  million  a  year  for  thirty-three 
and  one-third  years.  Is  this  within  the  range  of  hu- 
man possibility?  I  believe  that  it  is.  Now,  I  have 
gone  as  high  as  any  one  has  yet  gone  in  collecting,  but 
if  there  is  any  young  man  here  with  an  ambition  to 
render  a  larger  service  to  the  world,  I  will  raise  it  an- 
other notch,  if  necessary,  to  encourage  him.  So  al- 
most limitless  are  the  possibilities  of  service  in  this 
age  that  I  am  not  willing  to  fix  a  maximum  to  the 
sum  a  man  can  honestly  and  legitimately  earn. 

Not  only  do  I  believe  that  one  can  earn  five  hun- 
dred million,  but  I  believe  that  men  have  earned  it. 

In  this  and  other  countries  many  in  public  life 
might  be  mentioned,  for  even  in  politics  men  have 
great  opportunities,  which,  if  rightly  improved,  enable 
them  to  render  incalculable  service  to  their  fellow- 
men. 

But  let  us  go  outside  of  politics.     What  shall  we 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SOUL  169 

say  of  the  man  who  gave  to  the  world  a  knowledge  of 
the  use  of  steam  and  revolutionized  the  transportation 
of  the  globe?  How  much  did  he  earn?  And  the  man 
who  brought  down  lightning  from  the  clouds  and  im- 
prisoned it  in  a  slender  wire  so  that  it  lights  our 
homes,  draws  our  traffic  across  the  land  and  carries 
our  messages  under  the  sea;  what  did  he  earn?  And 
what  of  the  man  who  showed  us  how  to  hurl  our  mes- 
sages thousands  of  miles  through  space  without  the 
aid  of  wire?  And  how  much  did  the  man  earn  who 
taught  us  how  to  wrap  the  human  voice  around  a  lit- 
tle cylinder  so  that  it  can  be  laid  away  and  echo 
throughout  the  ages? 

Take  a  very  recent  invention,  the  gasolene  engine. 
It  has  already  given  us  the  automobile  and  the  flying 
machine,  and  heaven  only  knows  what  yet  may  come 
with  that  gasolene  engine.  My  first  ride  in  an  auto- 
mobile was  taken  in  the  campaign  of  1896;  since  then 
something  like  seventeen  million  automobiles  have 
been  brought  into  use. 

Have  you  thought  of  the  value  of  the  ice  machine? 
In  Apalachicola,  Florida,  they  have  erected  a  little 
monument  to  a  former  citizen,  Dr.  John  Gorry.  A 
statue  of  him  will  be  found  in  the  capitol  at  Talla- 
hassee, and  the  state  of  Florida  has  put  another  in 
the  Hall  of  Fame  at  Washington.  Out  of  his  brain 
came  the  idea  that  made  it  possible  for  the  world  to 
have  ice  to-day  without  regard  to  the  temperature  out- 
side. What  did  Gorry  earn  when  he  gave  the  world 
the  ice  machine? 

When  I  first  visited  the  Patent  Office  at  Washing- 


170  THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SOUL 

ton  I  saw  a  model  of  the  first  sewing  machine.  On  it 
was  a  card  on  which  was  written: 

"  Mine  are  sinews  superhuman, 

Ribs  of  brass  and  nerves  of  steel ; 
I'm  the  iron  needle  woman, 
Born  to  toil  but  not  to  feel.'* 

What  did  the  man  earn  who  gave  the  world  a  sewing 
machine  ? 

These  are  only  a  few  of  the  great  inventions.  Let 
us  take  up  another  group.  To  show  how  wide  is  the 
field  of  measureless  endeavour,  I  call  attention  to  the 
work  of  scientists.  Who  will  measure  the  value  of 
anesthetics  in  the  treatment  of  disease  and  injury? 
What  of  vaccination  and  the  labours  of  Pasteur?  Who 
will  estimate  the  value  of  the  service  rendered  by  the 
man  who  gave  us  a  remedy  for  typhoid?  In  1898 
hundreds  died  of  typhoid  fever  in  the  little  army  that 
was  raised  for  the  war  with  Spain — twenty-seven  of 
my  regiment  died  of  that  disease.  Now  we  have  a 
remedy  so  complete  that  of  the  nearly  a  million  men 
who  reached  the  battle-line  in  France  not  one  died  of 
typhoid,  and  only  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  of  the 
four  millions  called  to  the  colours. 

Have  you  tried  to  estimate  the  service  rendered  by 
Reed,  who,  in  finding  a  remedy  for  yellow  fever,  made 
the  tropics  habitable  and  made  it  possible  for  the 
United  States  to  add  the  Panama  Canal  to  our  great 
achievements  ? 

But  the  field  is  larger  still.  Raikes  established  a 
Sunday  school  and  now  we  have  Sunday  schools  all 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SOUL  171 

over  the  world;  Williams  organized  a  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  and  now  there  are  nine  thou- 
sand associations  and  more  than  a  million  and  a  half 
members  march  under  the  banners  of  that  organiza- 
tion, half  of  them  in  the  United  States.  Forty  years 
ago  a  young  preacher  in  Portland,  Maine,  gathered  a 
few  young  people  about  him  and  formed  a  Christian 
Endeavour  Society;  now  it  numbers  more  than  four 
million  members.  That  young  preacher.  Dr.  Francis 
E.  Clark,  is  now  one  of  the  great  religious  leaders  of 
the  world  and  is  Commander-in-Chief  of  this  mili- 
tant organization  which  is  larger  than  the  army  that 
did  our  part  in  the  World  War.    What  has  he  earned  ? 

Near  Rochester,  New  York,  there  is  a  little  town 
that  has  the  proud  distinction  of  being  the  birthplace 
of  Frances  Willard.  There  was  nothing  to  distinguish 
her  from  other  little  girls  when  she  was  in  school,  but 
when  she  reached  womanhood  she  gave  her  heart  to  a 
great  cause;  she  became  president  of  the  Woman's 
Christian  Temperance  Union,  probably  the  greatest 
of  the  organizations  among  women  ever  formed.  Un- 
der her  leadership  that  organization  brought  into  the 
schools  of  the  land  instruction  as  to  the  effect  of 
alcohol  upon  the  system  and  that  did  more  than  any 
other  one  thing,  I  think,  to  bring  National  Prohibi- 
tion. The  state  of  Illinois  has  placed  the  statue  of 
this  great  woman  in  the  Hall  of  Fame  in  the  National 
Capitol;  she  is  the  first  woman  to  be  thus  honoured. 
What  has  she  earned? 

And  so  I  might  continue,  for  the  name  of  the 
world's  great  benefactors  is  legion.    And  besides  those 


172  THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SOUL 

whose  services  were  of  incalculable  value  a  multitude 
have  earned  lesser  sums  ranging  down  to  a  modest 
fortune.  Every  one  can  earn  enough  to  supply  all 
needs.  Every  time  I  speak  to  the  students  of  a  col- 
lege, high  school,  or  primary  grade  I  cannot  help 
thinking  that  within  the  room  there  may  be  a  boy  or 
girl  who  will  catch  a  vision  of  great  achievement  and, 
consecrating  a  life  of  service,  do  a  work  so  valuable 
that  all  the  arithmetics  will  not  compute  its  worth. 

But  if  I  could  furnish  you  a  list  containing  the 
names  of  all  who  since  time  began  rendered  a  service 
worth  five  hundred  millions,  one  thing  would  be  true 
of  every  one  of  them;  namely,  that  never  in  a  single 
case  did  the  person  collect  the  full  amount  earned. 
Those  who  have  earned  five  hundred  millions  have 
been  so  busy  earning  it  that  they  have  not  had  time 
to  collect  it,  and  those  who  have  collected  five  hundred 
millions  have  been  so  busy  collecting  it  that  they  have 
not  had  time  to  earn  it.  Then,  too,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  those  who  render  the  greatest  service  serve 
more  than  their  own  generation — some  serve  all  who 
live  afterward  so  that  it  is  never  possible  to  compute 
what  they  have  earned. 

And  what  is  more,  those  who  render  the  largest 
service  do  not  care  to  collect  the  full  amount  earned. 
What  could  they  do  with  the  sum  that  they  actually 
earn?  Or,  what  is  more  important,  what  would  so 
great  a  sum  do  zvith  themf 

In  that  wonderful  parable  of  the  Sower,  Christ 
speaks  of  the  seeds  that  fell  and  of  the  thorns  that 
sprang  up  and   choked  them,   and  He  Himself  ex- 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SOUL  173 

plained  what  He  meant  by  this  illustration,  namely: 
That  the  care  of  this  world  and  the  deceitfulness  of 
riches  choke  the  truth.  If  the  great  benefactors  of  the 
race  had  been  burdened  with  the  care  of  big  fortunes, 
they  could  not  have  devoted  themselves  to  the  nobler 
things  that  gave  them  a  place  in  the  affection  of  their 
people  and  in  history. 

It  seems,  therefore,  that  while  one  cannot  rightfully 
collect  more  than  he  honestly  earns,  he  may  earn  more 
than  it  would  be  wise  for  him  to  collect.  And  that 
brings  us  to  the  next  question :  How  much  should  one 
desire  to  collect  from  society?  I  answer,  that  no 
matter  how  large  a  service  one  may  render  or  how 
much  he  may  earn,  he  should  not  desire  to  collect 
more  than  he  can  wisely  spend. 

And  how  much  can  one  wisely  spend?  Not  as 
much  as  you  might  think — ^not  nearly  as  much  as  some 
have  tried  to  spend.  No  matter  how  honestly  money 
may  be  acquired,  one  is  not  free  to  spend  it  at  will. 
We  are  hedged  about  by  certain  restrictions  that  we 
can  neither  remove  nor  ignore.  God  has  written  cer- 
tain laws  in  our  nature — laws  that  no  legislature  can 
repeal — laws  that  no  court  can  declare  unconstitu- 
tional, and  these  laws  limit  us  in  our  expenditures. 

Let  us  consider  some  of  the  things  for  which  we 
can  properly  spend  money.  We  need  food — we  all 
need  food,  and  we  need  about  the  same  amount;  not 
exactly,  but  the  difference  in  quantity  is  not  great. 
The  range  in  expenditure  is  greater  than  the  range  in 
quantity,  because  expenditure  covers  kind  and  quality 
as  well  as  quantity.     But  there  is  a  limit  even  to  ex- 


174  THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SOUL 

penditure.  If  a  man  eats  too  much  he  suffers  for  it. 
If  he  squanders  his  money  on  high-priced  foods,  he 
wears  his  stomach  out.  There  is  an  old  saying  which 
we  have  all  heard,  viz.,  "  The  poor  man  is  looking  for 
food  for  his  stomach,  while  the  rich  man  is  going 
from  one  watering  place  to  another  looking  for  a 
stomach  for  his  food."  This  is  only  a  witty  way  of 
expressing  a  sober  truth,  namely,  that  one  is  limited 
in  the  amount  of  money  he  can  wisely  spend  for  food. 

We  need  clothing — we  all  need  clothing,  and  we 
need  about  the  same  amount.  The  difference  in 
quantity  is  not  great.  The  range  in  expenditure  for 
clothing  is  greater  than  the  range  in  quantity,  because 
expenditure  covers  style  and  variety  as  well  as 
quantity,  but  there  is  a  limit  to  the  amount  of  money 
one  can  wisely  spend  for  clothing.  If  a  man  has  so 
much  clothing  that  it  takes  all  of  his  time  to  change 
his  clothes,  he  has  more  than  he  needs  and  more  than 
he  can  wisely  buy. 

We  need  homes — we  all  need  shelter  and  we  need 
about  the  same  amount.  In  fact,  God  was  very  demo- 
cratic in  the  distribution  of  our  needs,  for  He  so  cre- 
ated us  that  our  needs  are  about  the  same.  The  range 
of  expenditure  for  homes  is  probably  wider  than  in 
the  case  of  either  food  or  clothing.  We  are  inter- 
ested in  the  home.  I  never  pass  a  little  house  where 
two  young  people  are  starting  out  in  life  without  a 
feeling  of  sympathetic  interest  in  that  home;  I  never 
pass  a  house  where  a  room  is  being  added  without 
feeling  interested,  for  I  know  the  occupants  have 
planned  it,  and  looked  forward  to  it  and  waited  for  it ; 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SOUL  176 

I  like  to  see  a  little  house  moved  back  and  a  larger 
house  built,  for  I  know  it  is  the  fulfillment  of  a  dream. 
I  have  had  some  of  these  dreams  myself,  and  I  know 
how  they  lead  us  on  and  inspire  us  to  larger  effort 
and  greater  endeavour,  and  yet  there  is  a  limit  to  the 
amount  one  can  wisely  spend  even  for  so  good  a  thing 
as  a  home. 

If  a  man  gets  too  big  a  house  it  becomes  a  burden 
to  him,  and  many  have  had  this  experience.  Not  in- 
frequently a  young  couple  start  out  poor  and  struggle 
along  in  a  little  house,  looking  forward  to  the  time 
when  they  can  build  a  big  house.  After  a  while  the 
time  arrives  and  they  build  a  big  house,  larger,  pos- 
sibly, than  they  intended  to,  and  it  nearly  always 
costs  more  than  they  thought  it  would,  and  then  they 
struggle  along  the  rest  of  their  lives  looking  back  to 
the  time  when  they  lived  in  a  little  house. 

We  speak  of  people  being  independently  rich.  That 
is  a  mistake;  they  are  dependency  rich.  The  richer 
a  man  is  the  more  dependent  he  is — the  more  people 
he  depends  upon  to  help  him  collect  his  income,  and  the 
more  people  he  depends  upon  to  help  him  spend  his  in- 
come. Sometimes  a  couple  will  start  out  doing  their 
own  work — the  wife  doing  the  work  inside  the  house 
and  the  man  outside.  But  they  prosper,  and  after  a 
while  they  are  able  to  afford  help;  they  get  a  girl  to 
help  the  wife  inside  and  a  man  to  help  the  husband 
outside;  then  they  prosper  more — and  they  get  two 
girls  to  help  inside  and  two  men  to  help  outside,  then 
three  girls  inside  and  three  men  outside.  Finally  they 
have  so  many  girls  helping  inside  and  so  many  men 


176  THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SOUL 

helping  outside  that  they  cannot  leave  the  house — they 
have  to  stay  at  home  and  look  after  the  establishment. 

This  is  not  a  new  condition.  One  of  the  Latin 
poets  complained  of  '*  the  cares  that  hover  about  the 
fretted  ceilings  of  the  rich !  "  It  was  this  condition 
that  inspired  Charles  Wagner  to  write  his  little  book 
entitled  "  The  Simple  Life,"  in  which  he  entered  an 
eloquent  protest  against  the  materialism  which  makes 
man  the  slave  of  his  possessions;  he  presented  an 
earnest  plea  for  the  raising  of  the  spiritual  above  the 
purely  physical.  I  repeat,  that  there  is  a  limit  to  the 
amount  a  man  can  wisely  spend  upon  a  home. 

I  need  not  remind  you  that  the  rich  are  tempted  to 
spend  money  on  the  vices  that  destroy — money  hon- 
estly earned  may  thus  become  a  curse  rather  than  a 
blessing. 

But  a  man  can  give  his  money  away.  Yes,  and  no 
one  who  has  ever  tried  it  will  deny  that  more  pleasure 
is  to  be  derived  from  the  giving  of  money  to  a  cause 
in  which  one's  heart  is  interested,  than  can  be  ob- 
tained from  the  expenditure  of  the  same  amount  in 
selfish  indulgence.  But  if  one  is  going  to  give  largely 
he  must  spend  a  great  deal  of  time  in  investigating 
and  in  comparing  the  merits  of  the  different  enter- 
prises. I  am  persuaded  that  there  is  a  better  life  than 
the  life  led  by  those  who  spend  nearly  all  the  time  ac- 
cumulating beyond  their  needs  and  then  employ  the 
last  few  days  in  giving  it  away.  What  the  world 
needs  is  not  a  few  men  of  great  wealth,  doling  out 
their  money  in  anticipation  of  death — ^what  the  world 
needs  is  that  these  men  link  themselves  in  sympathetic 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SOUL  177 

interest  with  struggling  humanity  and  help  to  solve 
problems  of  to-day,  instead  of  creating  problems  for 
the  next  generation  to  solve. 

But  you  say,  a  man  can  leave  his  money  to  his  chil- 
dren? He  can,  if  he  dares.  A  large  fortune,  in  an- 
ticipation, has  ruined  more  sons  than  it  has  ever 
helped.  If  a  young  man  has  so  much  money  coming  to 
him  that  he  knows  he  will  never  have  to  work,  the 
chances  are  that  it  will  sap  his  energy,  even  if  it  does 
not  undermine  his  character,  and  leave  him  a  curse 
rather  than  a  blessing  to  those  who  brought  him  into 
the  world. 

And  it  is  scarcely  safer  to  leave  the  money  to  a 
daughter.  For,  if  a  young  woman  has  a  prospective 
inheritance  so  large  that,  when  a  young  man  calls  upon 
her,  she  cannot  tell  whether  he  is  calling  upon  her  or 
her  father,  it  is  embarrassing — especially  so  if  she 
finds  after  marriage  that  he  married  the  wrong  mem- 
ber of  the  family.  And,  I  may  add,  that  the  daugh- 
ters of  the  very  rich  are  usually  hedged  about  by  a 
social  environment  which  prevents  their  making  the 
acquaintance  of  the  best  young  men.  The  men  who, 
twenty-five  years  from  now,  will  be  the  leaders  in 
business,  in  society,  in  government,  and  in  the  Church, 
are  not  the  pampered  sons  of  the  rich,  but  the  young 
men  who,  with  good  health  and  good  habits,  with  high 
ideals  and  strong  ambition,  are,  under  the  spur  of 
necessity,  laying  the  foundation  for  future  achieve- 
ments, and  these  young  men  do  not  have  a  chance  to 
become  acquainted  with  the  daughters  of  the  very  rich. 
Even  if  they  did  know  them  they  might  hesitate  to 


178  THE  VALUE  OP  THE  SOUL 

enter  upon  the  scale  of  expenditure  to  which  these 
daughters  are  accustomed. 

I  have  dealt  at  length  with  these  fixed  limitations, 
although  we  all  know  of  them  or  ought  to.  The 
ministers  tell  us  about  these  things  Sunday  after  Sun- 
day, or  should,  and  yet  we  find  men  chasing  the  al- 
mighty dollar  until  they  fall  exhausted  into  the  grave. 
Dr.  Talmage  dealt  with  this  subject;  he  said  that  a 
man  who  wore  himself  out  getting  money  that  he  did 
not  need,  would  finally  drop  dead,  and  that  his  pastor 
would  tell  a  group  of  sorrowing  friends  that,  by  a 
mysterious  dispensation  of  Providence,  the  good  man 
had  been  cut  off  in  his  prime.  Dr.  Talmage  said  that 
Providence  had  nothing  to  do  with  it,  and  that  the 
minister  ought  to  tell  the  truth  about  it,  and  say  that 
the  man  had  been  kicked  to  death  by  the  golden 
calf. 

Some  years  ago  I  read  a  story  by  Tolstoy,  and  I  did 
not  notice  until  I  had  completed  it  that  the  title  of  the 
story  was,  "  What  shall  it  profit  ? "  The  great 
Russian  graphically  presented  the  very  thought  that 
I  have  been  trying  to  impress  upon  your  minds.  He 
told  of  a  Russian  who  had  land  hunger — who  added 
farm  to  farm  and  land  to  land,  but  could  never  get 
enough.  After  a  while  he  heard  of  a  place  where 
land  was  cheaper  and  he  sold  his  land  and  went  and 
bought  more  land.  But  he  had  no  more  than  settled 
there  until  he  heard  of  another  place  among  a  half- 
civilized  people  where  land  was  cheaper  still.  He 
took  a  servant  and  went  into  this  distant  country  and 
hunted  up  the  head  man  of  the  tribe,  who  offered  him 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SOUL  179 

all  the  land  he  could  walk  around  in  a  day  for  a  thou- 
sand rubles — told  him  he  could  put  the  money  down 
on  any  spot  and  walk  in  any  direction  as  far  and  as 
fast  as  he  would,  and  that,  if  he  was  back  by  sunset, 
he  could  have  all  the  land  he  had  encompassed  during 
the  day.  He  put  the  money  down  upon  the  ground  and 
started  at  sunrise  to  get,  at  last,  enough  land.  He 
started  leisurely,  but  as  he  looked  upon  the  land  it 
looked  so  good  that  he  hurried  a  little — and  then  he 
hurried  more,  and  then  he  went  faster  still.  Before 
he  turned  he  had  gone  further  in  that  direction  than  he 
had  intended,  but  he  spurred  himself  on  and  started 
on  the  second  side.  Before  he  turned  again  the  sun 
had  crossed  the  meridian  and  he  had  two  sides  yet  to 
cover.  As  the  sun  was  slowly  sinking  in  the  west  he 
constantly  accelerated  his  pace,  alarmed  at  last  for 
fear  he  had  undertaken  too  much  and  might  lose  it  all. 
He  reached  the  starting  point,  however,  just  as  the 
sun  went  down,  but  he  had  overtaxed  his  strength  and 
fell  dead  upon  the  spot.  His  servant  dug  a  grave  for 
him ;  he  only  needed  six  feet  of  ground  then,  the  same 
that  others  needed — the  rest  of  the  land  was  of  no 
use  to  him.  Thus  Tolstoy  told  the  story  of  many  a 
life — not  the  life  of  the  very  rich  only,  but  the  story 
of  every  life  in  which  the  love  of  money  is  the  con- 
trolling force  and  in  which  the  desire  for  gain  shrivels 
the  soul  and  leaves  the  life  a  failure  at  last. 

I  desire  to  show  you  how  practical  this  subject  is. 
If  time  permitted  I  could  take  up  every  occupation, 
every  avocation,  every  profession  and  every  calling, 
and  show  you  that  no  matter  which  way  we  turn — 


180  THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SOUL 

no  matter  what  we  do — we  are  always  and  everywhere 
weighing  the  Soul. 

In  the  brief  time  that  it  is  proper  for  me  to  occupy, 
I  shall  apply  the  thought  to  those  departments  of  hu- 
man activity  in  which  the  sale  of  a  soul  affects  others 
largely  as  well  as  the  individual  who  makes  the  bar- 
gain. 

Take  the  occupation  in  which  I  am  engaged,  jour- 
nalism. It  presents  a  great  field — a  growing  field;  in 
fact,  there  are  few  fields  so  large.  The  journalist  is 
both  a  news  gatherer  and  a  moulder  of  thought.  He 
informs  his  readers  as  to  what  is  going  on,  and  he 
points  out  the  relation  between  cause  and  effect — in- 
terprets current  history.  Public  opinion  is  the  con- 
trolling force  in  a  republic,  and  the  newspaper  gives 
to  the  journalist,  beyond  every  one  else,  the  oppor- 
tunity to  affect  public  opinion.  Others  reach  the 
readers  through  the  courtesy  of  the  newspaper,  but 
the  owner  of  the  paper  has  full  access  to  his  own 
columns,  and  does  not  fear  the  blue  pencil. 

The  journalist  occupies  the  position  of  a  watchman 
upon  a  tower.  He  is  often  able  to  see  dangers  which 
are  not  observed  by  the  general  public,  and,  because 
he  can  see  these  dangers,  he  is  in  a  position  of  greater 
responsibility.  Is  he  discharging  the  duty  which  su- 
perior opportunity  imposes  upon  him?  Year  by  year 
the  disclosures  are  bringing  to  light  the  fact  that  the 
predatory  interests  are  using  many  newspapers  and  even 
some  magazines  for  the  defense  of  commercial  iniquity 
and  for  the  purpose  of  attacking  those  who  lift  their 
voices  against  favouritism  and  privilege.    A  financial 


THE  VALUE  OP  THE  SOUL  181 

magnate  interested  in  the  exploitation  of  the  public 
secures  control  of  a  paper;  he  employs  business  man- 
agers, editors,  and  a  reportorial  staff.  He  does  not 
act  openly  or  in  the  daylight  but  through  a  group  of 
employees  who  are  the  visible  but  not  the  real  direct- 
ors. The  reporters  are  instructed  to  bring  in  the  kind 
of  news  that  will  advance  the  enterprises  owned  by 
the  man  who  stands  back  of  the  paper,  and  if  the 
news  brought  in  is  not  entirely  satisfactory,  it  is 
doctored  in  the  office.  The  columns  of  the  paper  are 
filled  with  matter,  written  not  for  the  purpose  of  pre- 
senting facts  as  they  exist,  but  for  the  purpose  of  dis- 
torting facts  and  misleading  the  public.  The  editorial 
writers,  whose  names  are  generally  unknown  to  the 
public,  are  told  what  to  say  and  what  subjects  to 
avoid.  They  are  instructed  to  extol  the  merits  of 
those  who  are  subservient  to  the  interests  represented 
by  the  paper,  and  to  misrepresent  and  traduce  those 
who  dare  to  criticize  or  oppose  the  plans  of  those  who 
hide  behind  the  paper.  Such  journalists  are  members 
of  a  kind  of  "  Black  Hand  Society  " ;  they  are  assas- 
sins, hiding  in  ambush  and  striking  in  the  dark;  and 
the  worst  of  it  is  that  the  readers  have  no  sure  way  of 
knowing  when  a  real  change  takes  place  in  the  owner- 
ship of  such  a  paper  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  a 
recent  law  requires  publication  of  ownership. 

There  are  degrees  of  culpability  and  some  are  dis- 
posed to  hold  an  editorial  writer  guiltless  even  when 
they  visit  condemnation  upon  the  secret  director  of 
the  paper's  policy.  I  present  to  you  a  different — and 
I  believe  higher — ideal  of  journalism.    If  we  are  go- 


182  THE  VALUE  OP  THE  SOUL 

ing  to  make  any  progress  in  morals  we  must  abandon 
the  idea  that  morals  are  defined  by  the  statutes;  we 
must  recognize  that  there  is  a  wide  margin  between 
that  which  the  law  prohibits  and  that  which  an  en- 
lightened conscience  can  approve.  We  do  not  legislate 
against  the  man  who  uses  the  printed  page  for  the 
purpose  of  deception  but,  viewed  from  the  standpoint 
of  morals,  the  man  who,  whether  voluntarily  or  under 
instructions,  writes  what  he  knows  to  be  untrue  or 
purposely  misleads  his  readers  as  to  the  character  of 
a  proposition  upon  which  they  have  to  act,  is  as  guilty 
of  wrong-doing  as  the  man  who  assists  in  any  other 
swindling  transaction. 

Another  method  employed  to  mislead  the  public  is 
the  publication  of  editorial  matter  supplied  by  those 
who  have  an  interest  to  serve.  This  evil  is  even  more 
common  than  secrecy  as  to  the  ownership  of  the  paper. 
In  the  case  of  the  weekly  papers  and  the  smaller  dailies, 
the  proprietor  is  generally  known,  and  it  is  under- 
stood that  the  editorial  pages  represent  his  views.  His 
standing  and  character  give  weight  to  that  which  ap- 
pears with  his  endorsement.  A  few  years  ago,  when 
a  railroad  rate  bill  was  before  Congress,  a  number  of 
railroads  joined  in  an  effort  to  create  public  sentiment 
against  the  bill.  Bureaus  were  established  for  the  dis- 
semination of  literature,  and  a  number  of  newspapers 
entered  into  contract  to  publish  as  editorial  matter  the 
material  furnished  by  these  bureaus.  This  cannot  be 
defended  in  ethics.  The  secret  purchase  of  the 
editorial  columns  is  a  crime  against  the  public  and  a 
,disgrace  to  journalism,  and  yet  we  have  frequent  oc- 


THE  VALUE  OP  THE  SOUL  183 

casion  to  note  this  degradation  of  the  newspaper.  A 
few  years  ago  Senator  Carter,  of  Montana,  speaking 
in  the  United  States  Senate,  read  several  printed  slips 
which  were  sent  out  by  a  bankers'  association  to 
local  bankers  with  the  request  that  they  be  inserted  in 
the  local  papers  as  editorials,  suggestion  being  made 
that  the  instructions  to  the  local  bankers  be  removed 
before  they  were  handed  to  the  papers.  The  purpose 
of  the  bankers'  association  was  to  stimulate  opposition 
to  the  postal  savings  bank,  a  policy  endorsed  affirma- 
tively by  the  Republican  party  and,  conditionally,  by 
the  Democratic  party,  the  two  platforms  being  sup- 
ported at  the  polls  by  more  than  ninety  per  cent,  of 
the  voters.  The  bankers'  associations  were  opposing 
the  policy,  and,  in  sending  out  its  literature,  they  were 
endeavouring  to  conceal  the  source  of  that  literature 
and  to  make  it  appear  that  the  printed  matter  repre- 
sented the  opinion  of  some  one  in  the  community. 

The  journalist  who  would  fully  perform  his  duty 
must  be  not  only  incorruptible,  but  ever  alert,  for 
those  who  are  trying  to  misuse  the  newspapers  are  able 
to  deceive  "  the  very  elect."  Whenever  any  movement 
is  on  foot  for  the  securing  of  legislation  desired  by 
the  predatory  interests,  or  when  restraining  legislation 
is  threatened,  news  bureaus  are  established  at  Wash- 
ington, and  these  news  bureaus  furnish  to  such  papers 
as  will  use  them  free  reports,  daily  or  weekly  as  the 
case  may  be,  from  the  national  capitol — reports  which 
purport  to  give  general  news,  but  which  in  fact  contain 
arguments  in  support  of  the  schemes  which  the  bureaus 
are  organized  to  advance.    This  ingenious  method  of 


184  THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SOUL 

misleading  the  public  is  only  a  part  of  the  general  plan 
which  favour-holding  and  favour-seeking  corporations 
pursue. 

Demosthenes  declared  that  the  man  who  refuses  a 
bribe  conquers  the  man  who  offers  it.  According  to 
this,  the  journalist  who  resists  the  many  temptations 
which  come  to  him  to  surrender  his  ideals  has  the 
consciousness  of  winning  a  moral  victory  as  well  as 
the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  he  is  rendering  a  real 
service  to  his  fellows. 

The  profession  for  which  I  was  trained — the  law — 
presents  another  line  of  temptations.  The  court-room 
is  a  soul's  market  where  many  barter  away  their  ideals 
in  the  hope  of  winning  wealth  or  fame.  Lawyers 
sometimes  boast  of  the  number  of  men  whose  acquittal 
they  have  secured  when  they  knew  them  to  be  guilty, 
and  of  advantages  won  which  they  knew  their  clients 
did  not  deserve.  I  do  not  understand  how  a  lawyer 
can  so  boast,  for  he  is  an  officer  of  the  court  and,  as 
such,  is  sworn  to  assist  in  the  administration  of  jus- 
tice. When  a  lawyer  has  helped  his  client  to  obtain 
all  that  his  client  is  entitled  to,  he  has  done  his  full 
duty  as  a  lawyer,  and,  if  he  goes  beyond  this,  he  goes 
at  his  own  peril.  Show  me  a  lawyer  who  has  spent 
a  lifetime  trying  to  obscure  the  line  between  right  and 
wrong — trying  to  prove  that  to  be  just  which  he  knew 
to  be  unjust,  and  I  will  show  you  a  man  who  has 
grown  weaker  in  character  year  by  year,  and  whose 
advice,  at  last,  will  be  of  no  value  to  his  clients,  for 
he  will  have  lost  the  power  to  discern  between  right 
and  wrong.    Show  me,  on  the  other  hand,  a  lawyer 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SOUL  186 

who  has  spent  a  Hfetlme  in  the  search  for  truth,  de- 
termined to  follow  where  it  leads,  and  I  will  show  you 
a  man  who  has  grown  stronger  in  character  day  by 
day  and  whose  advice  constantly  becomes  more  valu- 
able to  his  client,  because  the  power  to  discern  the 
truth  increases  with  the  honest  search  for  it. 

Not  only  in  the  court-room,  but  in  the  consultation 
chamber  also  the  lawyer  sometimes  yields  to  the  temp- 
tation to  turn  his  talents  to  a  sordid  use.  The  schemes 
of  spoliation  that  defy  the  officers  of  the  law  are,  for 
the  most  part,  inaugurated  and  directed  by  legal  minds. 
I  was  speaking  on  this  very  subject  in  one  of  the  great 
cities  of  the  country  and  at  the  close  of  the  address, 
a  prominent  judge  commended  my  criticism  and  de- 
clared that  most  of  the  lawyers  practicing  in  his  court 
were  constantly  selling  their  souls. 

The  lawyer's  position  is  scarcely  less  responsible 
than  the  position  of  the  journalist;  if  the  journalists 
and  lawyers  of  the  country  could  be  brought  to  ab- 
stain from  the  practices  by  which  the  general  public 
is  overreached,  it  would  be  an  easy  matter  to  secure 
the  remedial  legislation  necessary  to  protect  the  pro- 
ducing masses  from  the  constant  spoliation  to  which 
they  are  now  subjected  by  the  privileged  classes. 

If  a  man  who  is  planning  a  train-robbery  takes  an- 
other along  to  hold  a  horse  at  a  convenient  distance, 
we  say  that  the  man  who  holds  the  horse  is  equally 
guilty  with  the  man  who  robs  the  train ;  and  the  time 
will  come  when  public  opinion  will  hold  as  equally 
guilty  with  the  plunderers  of  society  the  lawyers  and 
journalists  who  assist  the  plunderers  to  escape. 


186  THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SOUL 

I  would  not  be  forgiven  if  I  failed  to  apply  my 
theme  to  the  work  of  the  instructor.  The  purpose  of 
education  is  not  merely  to  develop  the  mind;  it  is  to 
prepare  men  and  women  for  society's  work  and  for 
citizenship.  The  ideals  of  the  teacher,  therefore,  are 
of  the  first  importance.  The  pupil  is  apt  to  be  as  much 
influenced  by  what  his  teacher  is  as  by  what  the  teacher 
says  or  does.  The  measure  of  a  school  cannot  be 
gathered  from  an  inspection  of  the  examination  pa- 
pers; the  conception  of  life  which  the  graduate  carries 
away  must  be  counted  in  estimating  the  benefits  con- 
ferred. The  pecuniary  rewards  of  the  teacher  are 
usually  small  when  compared  with  the  rewards  of 
business.  This  may  be  due  in  part  to  our  failure  to 
properly  appreciate  the  work  which  the  teacher  does, 
but  it  may  be  partially  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that 
the  teacher  derives  from  his  work  a  satisfaction 
greater  than  that  obtained  from  most  other  employ- 
ments. 

The  teacher  comes  into  contact  with  the  life  of  the 
student  and,  as  our  greatest  joy  is  derived  from  the 
consciousness  of  having  benefited  others,  the  teacher 
rightly  counts  as  a  part  of  his  compensation  the  con- 
tinuing pleasure  to  be  found  in  the  knowledge  that  he 
is  projecting  his  influence  through  future  generations. 
The  heart  plays  as  large  a  part  as  the  head  in  the 
teacher's  work,  because  the  heart  is  an  important  fac- 
tor in  every  life  and  in  the  shaping  of  the  destiny  of 
the  race.  I  fear  the  plutocracy  of  wealth;  I  respect 
the  aristocracy  of  learning;  but  I  thank  God  for  the 
democracy  of  the  heart.     It  is  upon  the  heart  level 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SOUL  187 

that  we  meet;  it  is  by  the  characteristics  of  the  heart 
that  we  best  know  and  best  remember  each  other. 
Astronomers  tell  us  the  distance  of  each  star  from  the 
earth,  but  no  mathematician  can  calculate  the  influence 
which  a  noble  teacher  may  exert  upon  posterity.  And 
yet,  even  the  teacher  may  fall  from  his  high  estate, 
and,  forgetting  his  immeasurable  responsibility,  yield 
to  the  temptation  to  estimate  his  work  by  its  pecuniary 
reward.  Just  now  some  of  the  teachers  are — let  us 
hope,  unconsciously — undermining  the  religious  faith 
of  students  by  substituting  the  guesses  of  Darwin  for 
the  Word  of  God. 

Let  me  turn  for  a  moment  from  the  profession  and 
the  occupation  to  the  calling.  I  am  sure  I  shall  not 
be  accused  of  departing  from  the  truth  when  I  say 
that  even  those  who  minister  to  our  spiritual  wants 
and,  as  our  religious  leaders,  help  to  fix  our  standards 
of  morality,  sometimes  prove  unfaithful  to  their  trust. 
They  are  human,  and  the  frailities  of  man  obscure 
the  light  which  shines  from  within,  even  when  that 
light  is  a  reflection  from  the  throne  of  God. 

We  need  more  Elijahs  in  the  pulpit  to-day — more 
men  who  will  dare  to  upbraid  an  Ahab  and  defy  a 
Jezebel.  It  is  possible,  aye,  probable,  that  even  now, 
as  of  old,  persecutions  would  follow  such  boldness 
of  speech,  but  he  who  consecrates  himself  to  religion 
must  smite  evil  wherever  he  finds  it,  although  in  smit- 
ing it  he  may  risk  his  salary  and  his  social  position. 
It  is  easy  enough  to  denounce  the  petty  thief  and  the 
back-alley  gambler;  it  is  easy  enough  to  condemn  the 
friendless  rogue  and  the  penniless  wrong-doer,   but 


188  THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SOUL 

what  about  the  rich  tax-dodger,  the  big  lawbreaker, 
and  the  corrupter  of  government?  The  soul  that  is 
warmed  by  divine  fire  will  be  satisfied  with  nothing 
less  than  the  complete  performance  of  duty;  it  must 
cry  aloud  and  spare  not,  to  the  end  that  the  creed  of 
the  Christ  may  be  exemplified  in  the  life  of  the  nation. 

We  need  Elijahs  now  to  face  the  higher  critics. 
Instead  of  allowing  the  materialists  to  cut  the  super- 
natural out  of  the  Bible  the  ministers  should  demand 
that  the  unsupported  guesses  be  cut  out  of  school- 
books  dealing  with  science. 

Not  only  does  the  soul  question  present  itself  to 
individuals,  but  it  presents  itself  to  groups  of  individ- 
uals as  well. 

Let  us  consider  the  party.  A  political  party  cannot 
be  better  than  its  ideal;  in  fact,  it  is  good  in  propor- 
tion as  its  ideal  is  worthy,  and  its  place  in  history  is 
determined  by  its  adherence  to  a  high  purpose.  The 
party  is  made  for  its  members,  not  the  members  for 
the  party;  and  a  party  is  useful,  therefore,  only  as  it 
is  a  means  through  which  one  may  protect  his  rights, 
guard  his  interests  and  promote  the  public  welfare. 
The  best  service  that  a  man  can  render  his  party  is 
to  raise  its  ideals.  He  basely  betrays  his  party's  hopes 
and  is  recreant  to  his  duty  to  his  party  associates  who 
seeks  to  barter  away  a  noble  party  purpose  for  tem- 
porary advantages  or  for  the  spoils  of  ofifice.  It  would 
be  a  reflection  upon  the  intelligence  and  patriotism  of 
the  people  to  assert,  or  even  to  assume,  that  lasting 
benefit  could  be  secured  for  a  party  by  the  lowering  of 
its  standards.     He  serves  his  party  most  loyally  who 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SOUL  189 

serves  his  country  most  faithfully;  it  is  a  fatal  error 
to  suppose  that  a  party  can  be  permanently  benefited 
by  a  betrayal  of  the  people's  interests. 

In  every  act  of  party  life  and  party  strife  we  weigh 
the  soul.  That  the  people  have  a  right  to  have  what 
they  want  in  government  is  a  fundamental  principle 
in  free  government.  Corruption  in  government  comes 
from  the  attempt  to  substitute  the  will  of  a  minority 
for  the  will  of  the  majority.  Every  important  meas- 
ure that  comes  up  for  consideration  involves  justice 
and  injustice — right  and  wrong — and  is,  therefore,  a 
question  of  conscience.  As  justice  is  the  basis  of  a 
nation's  strength  and  gives  it  hope  of  perpetuity,  and, 
as  the  seeds  of  decay  are  sown  whenever  injustice 
enters  into  government,  patriotism  as  well  as  con- 
science leads  us  to  analyze  every  public  question,  ascer- 
tain the  moral  principle  involved  and  then  cast  our 
influence,  whether  it  be  great  or  small,  on  the  side  of 
justice. 

The  patriot  must  desire  the  triumph  of  that  which 
is  right  above  the  triumph  of  that  which  he  may  think 
to  be  right  if  he  is,  in  fact,  mistaken;  and  so  the  parti- 
zan,  if  he  be  an  intelligent  partizan,  must  be  prepared 
to  rejoice  in  his  party's  defeat  if  by  that  defeat  his 
country  is  the  gainer.  One  can  afford  to  be  in  a 
minority,  but  he  cannot  afford  to  be  wrong;  if  he  is  in 
a  minority  and  right,  he  will  some  day  be  in  the  ma- 
jority. 

The  activities  of  politics  center  about  the  election  of 
candidates  to  office,  and  the  official,  under  our  system, 
represents  both  the  party  to  which  he  belongs  and  the 


190  THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SOUL 

whole  body  of  his  constituency.  He  has  two  tempta- 
tions to  withstand;  first,  the  temptation  to  substitute 
his  own  judgment  for  the  judgment  of  his  constitu- 
ents, and  second,  the  temptation  to  put  his  pecuniary 
interests  above  the  interests  of  those  for  whom  he  acts. 
According  to  the  aristocratic  idea,  the  representative 
thinks  for  his  constituents;  according  to  the  Demo- 
cratic idea,  the  representative  thinks  with  his  constitu- 
ents. A  representative  has  no  right  to  defeat  the 
wishes  of  those  who  elect  him,  if  he  knows  their 
wishes. 

But  a  representative  is  not  liable  to  knowingly  mis- 
represent his  constituents  unless  he  has  pecuniary  in- 
terests adverse  to  theirs.  This  is  the  temptation  to  be 
resisted — ^this  is  the  sin  to  be  avoided.  The  official 
who  uses  his  position  to  secure  a  pecuniary  advantage 
over  the  public  is  an  embezzler  of  power — and  an  em- 
bezzler of  power  is  as  guilty  of  moral  turpitude  as  the 
embezzler  of  money.  There  is  no  better  motto  for 
the  public  official  than  that  given  by  Solomon:  "A 
good  name  is  rather  to  be  chosen  than  great  riches, 
and  loving  favour  rather  than  silver  and  gold." 
There  is  no  better  rule  for  the  public  official  to  follow 
than  this — to  do  nothing  that  he  would  not  be  willing 
to  have  printed  in  the  newspaper  next  day. 

One  who  exercises  authority  conferred  upon  him 
by  the  suffrages  of  his  fellows  ought  to  be  fortified 
in  his  integrity  by  the  consciousness  of  the  fact  that  a 
betrayal  of  his  trust  is  hurtful  to  the  party  which 
honours  him  and  unjust  to  the  people  whom  he  serves, 
as  well  as  injurious  to  himself.    Nothing  that  he  can 


THE  YALIJE  OF  THE  SOUL  191 

gain,  not  even  the  whole  world,  can  compensate  him 
for  the  loss  that  he  suffers  in  the  surrender  of  a  high 
ideal  of  public  duty. 

In  conclusion,  let  me  say  that  the  nation,  as  well  as 
the  individual,  and  the  party,  must  be  measured  by  its 
purpose,  its  ideals  and  its  service.  "  Let  him  who 
would  be  chiefest  among  you,  be  the  servant  of  all," 
was  intended  for  nations  as  well  as  for  citizens.  Our 
nation  is  the  greatest  in  the  world  and  the  greatest  of 
all  time,  because  it  is  rendering  a  larger  service  than 
any  other  nation  is  rendering  or  has  rendered.  It  is 
giving  the  world  ideals  in  education,  in  social  life,  in 
government,  and  in  religion.  It  is  the  teacher  of  na- 
tions; it  is  the  world's  torch-bearer.  Here  the  people 
are  more  free  than  elsewhere  to  "  try  all  things  and 
hold  fast  that  which  is  good  " ;  "  to  know  the  truth  " 
and  to  find  freedom  in  that  knowledge.  No  material 
considerations  should  blind  us  to  our  nation's  mission, 
or  turn  us  aside  from  the  accomplishment  of  the  great 
work  which  has  been  reserved  for  us.  Our  fields  bring 
forth  abundantly  and  the  products  of  our  farms 
furnish  food  for  many  in  the  Old  World.  Our  mills 
and  looms  supply  an  increasing  export,  but  these  are 
not  our  greatest  asset.  Our  most  fertile  soil  is  to  be 
found  in  the  minds  and  the  hearts  of  our  people;  our 
most  important  manufacturing  plants  are  not  our 
factories,  with  their  smoking  chimneys,  but  our 
schools,  our  colleges  and  our  churches,  which  take  in 
a  priceless  raw  material  and  turn  out  the  most  valu- 
able finished  product  that  the  world  has  known. 

We  enjoy  by  inheritance,  or  by  choice,  the  blessings 


192  THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SOUL 

of  American  citizenship;  let  us  not  be  unmindful  of 
the  obligations  which  these  blessings  impose.  Let  us 
not  become  so  occupied  in  the  struggle  for  wealth  or 
in  the  contest  for  honours  as  to  repudiate  the  debt 
that  we  owe  to  those  who  have  gone  before  us  and  to 
those  who  bear  with  us  the  responsibilities  that  rest 
upon  the  present  generation.  Society  has  claims  upon 
us;  our  country  makes  demands  upon  our  time,  our 
thought  and  our  purpose.  We  cannot  shirk  these  du- 
ties without  disgrace  to  ourselves  and  injury  to  those 
who  come  after  us.  If  one  is  tempted  to  complain  of 
the  burdens  borne  by  American  citizens,  let  him  com- 
pare them  with  the  much  larger  burdens  imposed  by 
despots  upon  their  subjects. 

I  challenge  the  doctrine,  now  being  taught,  that  we 
must  enter  into  a  mad  rivalry  with  the  Old  World  in 
the  building  of  battleships — the  doctrine  that  the  only 
way  to  preserve  peace  is  to  get  ready  for  wars  that 
ought  never  to  come!  It  is  a  barbarous,  brutal,  tm- 
Christian  doctrine — the  doctrine  of  the  darkness,  not 
the  doctrine  of  the  dawn. 

Nation  after  nation,  when  at  the  zenith  of  its  power, 
has  proclaimed  itself  invincible  because  its  army 
could  shake  the  earth  with  its  tread  and  its  ships  could 
fill  the  seas,  but  these  nations  are  dead,  and  we  must 
build  upon  a  different  foundation  if  we  would  avoid 
their  fate. 

Carlyle,  in  the  closing  chapters  of  his  "  French  Revo- 
lution," says  that  thought  is  stronger  than  artillery 
parks  and  at  last  moulds  the  world  like  soft  clay,  and 
then  he  adds  that  back  of  thought  is  love.    Carlyle  is 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SOUL  193 

right.  Love  is  the  greatest  power  in  the  world.  The 
nations  that  are  dead  boasted  that  people  bowed  be- 
fore their  flag;  let  us  not  be  content  until  our  flag 
represents  sentiments  so  high  and  holy  that  the  op- 
pressed of  every  land  will  turn  their  faces  toward  that 
flag  and  thank  God  that  it  stands  for  self-government 
and  for  the  rights  of  man. 

The  enlightened  conscience  of  our  nation  should 
proclaim  as  the  country's  creed  that  "  righteousness 
exalteth  a  nation  "  and  that  justice  is  a  nation's  surest 
defense.  If  there  ever  was  a  nation  it  is  ours — if 
there  ever  was  a  time  it  is  now — to  put  God's  truth  to 
a  test.  With  an  ocean  rolling  on  either  side  and  a 
mountain  range  along  either  coast  that  all  the  armies 
of  the  world  could  never  climb  we  ought  not  to  be 
afraid  to  trust  in  "  the  wisdom  of  doing  right." 

Our  government,  conceived  in  liberty  and  purchased 
with  blood,  can  be  preserved  only  by  constant  vigi- 
lance. May  we  guard  it  as  our  children's  richest 
legacy,  for  what  shall  it  profit  our  nation  if  it  shall 
gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  "  the  spirit  that  prizes 
liberty  as  the  heritage  of  all  men  in  all  lands  every- 
where "  ? 


VII 

THREE  PRICELESS  GIFTS 

THE  Bible  differs  from  all  other  books  in  that 
it  never  wears  out.  Other  books  are  read 
and  laid  aside,  but  the  Bible  is  a  constant 
companion.  No  matter  how  often  we  read  it  or  how 
familiar  we  become  with  it,  some  new  truth  is  likely 
to  spring  out  at  us  from  its  pages  whenever  we  open  it, 
or  some  old  truth  will  impress  us  as  it  never  did  before. 
Every  Christian  can  give  illustrations  of  this.  Permit 
me  to  refer  briefly  to  four.  My  first  religious  address. 
"  The  Prince  of  Peace,"  was  the  outgrowth  of  a  chance 
rereading  of  a  passage  in  Isaiah.  This  I  have  re- 
ferred to  in  my  lecture  entitled  "  His  Government  and 
Peace." 

The  argument  presented  in  my  lecture  on  the 
Bible,  in  which  I  defend  the  inspiration  of  the 
Book  of  Books,  was  the  outgrowth  of  a  chance  re- 
reading of  Elijah's  prayer  test.  I  was  preparing  an 
address  for  the  celebration  of  the  Tercentenary  of  the 
King  James'  Translation  when,  on  the  train,  I  turned 
by  chance  to  Elijah's  challenge  to  the  prophets  of  Baal. 
It  suggested  to  me  what  I  regard  as  an  unanswerable 
argument,  namely,  a  challenge  to  those  who  reject  the 
Bible  to  put  their  theory  to  the  test  and  produce  a  book, 

194 


THEEE  PEICELESS  GIFTS  195 

the  equal  of  the  Bible,  or  admit  one  of  two  alternatives, 
either  that  the  Bible  comes  from  a  source  higher  than 
man  or  that  man  has  so  degenerated  that  less  can  be 
expected  of  him  now  than  nineteen  hundred  years  ago. 

In  preparing  a  Sunday-school  lesson  on  Abraham's 
faith  I  was  so  impressed  with  the  influence  of  faith  on 
the  life  of  the  patriarch  and,  through  him,  on  the 
world,  that  I  prepared  a  college  address  on  *'  Faith,"  a 
part  of  which  I  have  reproduced  in  my  lecture  on 
"  The  Spoken  Word." 

It  was  a  chance  rereading  of  an  extract  from  the 
account  of  the  Ten  Lepers  which  led  me  to  prepare 
the  lecture  reproduced  in  this  chapter.  The  subject 
to  which  I  invite  your  attention  is  as  important  to- 
day as  it  was  when  the  Master  laid  emphasis  upon 
it.  As  He  approached  a  certain  village  ten  lepers  met 
Him ;  they  recognized  Him  and  cried  out,  "  Jesus, 
Master,  have  mercy  upon  us."  He  healed  them ;  when 
they  found  that  they  had  been  made  whole,  one  of 
them  turned  back  and,  falling  on  his  face  at  Jesus'  feet, 
poured  forth  his  heart  in  grateful  thanks.  Christ,  no- 
ticing the  absence  of  the  others,  inquired,  "  Were  there 
not  ten  cleansed,  but  where  are  the  nine  ?  "  This  sim- 
ple question  has  come  echoing  down  through  nineteen 
centuries,  the  most  stinging  rebuke  ever  uttered  against 
the  sin  of  ingratitude.  If  the  lepers  had  been  afflicted 
with  a  disease  easily  cured,  they  might  have  said, 
"Any  one  could  have  healed  us,"  but  only  Christ  could 
restore  them  to  health,  and  yet,  when  they  had  received 
of  His  cleansing  power,  they  apparently  felt  no  sense 
of  obligation ;  at  least,  they  expressed  no  gratitude. 


196  THREE  PEICELESS  GIFTS 

Some  one  has  described  ingratitude  as  a  meaner  sin 
than  revenge — the  explanation  being  that  revenge  is 
repayment  of  evil  v^ith  evil,  v^hile  ingratitude  is  repay- 
ment of  good  with  evil.  If  you  visit  revenge  upon 
one,  it  is  because  he  has  injured  you  first  and  the  law 
takes  notice  of  provocation.  Ingratitude  is  lack  of 
appreciation  of  a  favour  shown;  it  is  indifference  to  a 
kindness  done. 

Ingratitude  is  so  common  a  sin  that  few  have  occu- 
pied the  pulpit  for  a  year  without  using  the  story  of 
the  Ten  Lepers  as  the  basis  of  a  sermon;  and  one 
could  speak  upon  this  theme  every  Sunday  in  the  year 
without  being  compelled  to  repeat  himself,  so  infinite 
in  number  are  the  illustrations.  Those  who  speak  of 
ingratitude  usually  begin  with  the  child.  A  child  is 
born  into  the  world  the  most  helpless  of  all  creatures ; 
for  years  it  could  not  live  but  for  the  affectionate  and 
devoted  care  of  parents,  or  of  those  who  stand  in  the 
place  of  parents.  If,  when  it  grows  up,  it  becomes  in- 
different; if  its  heart  grows  cold,  and  it  becomes  un- 
grateful, it  arouses  universal  Indignation.  Poets  and 
writers  of  prose  have  exhausted  all  the  epithets  in  their 
effort  to  describe  an  ungrateful  child.  Shakespeare's 
words  are  probably  those  most  quoted: 

"  How  sharper  than  a  sei-pent's  tooth  it  is 
To  have  a  thankless  child." 

But  it  is  not  my  purpose  to  speak  of  thankless  chil- 
dren ;  I  shall  rather  make  application  of  the  rebuke  to 
the  line  of  work  in  which  I  have  been  engaged.  For 
some  thirty  years  my  time,  by  fate  or  fortune,  has  been 


THEEE  PBICELESS  GIFTS  197 

devoted  largely  to  the  study  and  discussion  of  the  prob- 
lems of  government,  and  I  have  had  occasion  to  note 
the  apathy  and  indifference  of  citizens.  I  have  seen 
reforms  delayed  and  the  suffering  of  the  people  pro- 
longed by  lack  of  vigilance.  Let  us,  therefore,  con- 
sider together  for  a  little  while  some  of  the  priceless 
gifts  that  come  to  us  because  we  live  under  the  Stars 
and  Stripes — gifts  so  valuable  that  they  cannot  be  esti- 
mated in  figures  or  described  in  language — gifts  which 
are  received  and  enjoyed  by  many  without  any  sense  of 
obligation,  and  without  any  resolve  to  repay  the  debt 
due  to  society. 

These  gifts  are  many,  but  we  shall  have  time  for 
only  three.  The  first  is  education;  it  is  a  gift  rather 
than  an  acquirement.  It  comes  into  our  lives  when  we 
are  too  young  to  decide  such  questions  for  ourselves. 
I  sometimes  meet  a  man  who  calls  himself  "  self- 
made,"  and  I  always  want  to  cross-examine  him.  I 
would  ask  him  when  he  began  to  make  himself,  and 
how  he  laid  the  foundations  of  his  greatness.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  we  inherit  more  than  we  ourselves  can 
add.  It  means  more  to  be  born  of  a  race  with  cen- 
turies of  civilization  back  of  it  than  anything  that  we 
ourselves  can  contribute.  And,  next  to  that  which  we 
inherit,  comes  that  which  enters  our  lives  through  the 
environment  of  youth.  In  this  country  the  child  is  so 
surrounded  by  opportunities,  that  it  enters  school  as 
early  as  the  law  will  permit.  It  does  not  go  to  school, 
it  is  sent  to  school,  and  we  are  so  anxious  that  it 
shall  lose  no  time  that,  if  there  is  ever  a  period  in  the 
child's  life  when  the  mother  is  uncertain  as  to  its  exact 


198  THREE  PRICELESS  GIFTS 

age,  this  is  the  time.  I  heard  of  a  little  boy,  who,  when 
asked  how  old  he  was,  replied,  "  I  am  five  on  the  train, 
seven  in  school  and  six  at  home."  The  child  is  pushed 
through  grade  after  grade,  and,  according  to  the  statis- 
tics, a  little  more  than  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  children 
drop  out  of  school  before  they  are  old  enough  to  decide 
educational  questions  for  themselves.  They  are 
scarcely  more  than  fourteen. 

Taking  the  country  over,  a  little  less  than  one  in  ten 
of  the  children  who  enter  our  graded  school  ever  enter 
high  school,  and  not  quite  one  in  fifty  enter  college 
or  university.  As  many  who  enter  college  do  not  com- 
plete the  course,  I  am  not  far  from  the  truth  when  I 
say  that  only  about  one  young  man  in  one  hundred 
continues  his  education  until  he  reaches  the  age — 
twenty-one — when  the  law  assumes  that  his  reason  is 
mature.  I  am  emphasizing  these  statistics  in  order  to 
show  that  we  are  indebted  to  others  more  than  to  our- 
selves for  our  education.  That  which  we  do  would 
not  be  done  but  for  what  others  have  already  done. 
Even  those  who  secure  an  education  in  spite  of  diffi- 
culties have  received  from  some  one  the  idea  that 
makes  them  appreciate  the  value  of  an  education. 

When  we  are  born  we  find  an  educational  system 
here ;  we  do  not  devise  it,  it  was  established  by  a  gen- 
eration long  since  dead.  When  we  are  ready  to  attend 
school  we  find  a  schoolhouse  already  built ;  we  do  not 
build  it,  it  was  erected  by  the  taxpayers,  many  of  whom 
are  dead.  When  we  are  ready  for  instruction  we  find 
teachers  prepared  by  others,  many  of  whom  have 
passed  to  their  reward. 


THREE  PRICELESS  GIFTS  199 

How  do  we  feel  when  we  complete  our  education? 
Do  we  count  the  cost  to  others  and  think  of  the  sacri- 
fices they  have  made  for  our  benefit  ?  Do  we  estimate 
the  strength  that  education  has  brought  to  us  and  feel 
that  we  should  put  that  strength  under  heavier  loads  ? 
We  are  raised  by  our  study  to  an  intellectual  eminence 
from  which  we  can  secure  a  clearer  view  of  the  future ; 
do  we  feel  that  we  should  be  like  watchmen  upon  the 
tower  and  warn  those  less  fortunate  of  the  dangers 
that  they  do  not  yet  discern  ?  We  should,  but  do  we  ? 
I  venture  to  assert  that  more  than  nine  out  of  ten  of 
those  who  receive  into  their  lives,  and  profit  by,  the 
gift  of  education  are  as  ungrateful  as  the  nine  lepers 
of  whom  the  Bible  tells  us — they  receive,  they  enjoy, 
but  they  give  no  thanks. 

But  it  is  even  worse  than  this ;  the  Bible  does  not  say 
that  any  one  of  the  nine  lepers  used  for  the  injury  of 
his  fellows  the  strength  that  Christ  gave  back  to  him. 
All  that  is  said  is  that  they  were  ungrateful ;  but  how 
about  those  who  go  out  from  our  colleges  and  univer- 
sities ?  Are  not  many  of  these  worse  than  ungrateful  ? 
I  would  not  venture  to  use  my  own  language  here;  I 
will  quote  what  others  have  said. 

Wendell  Phillips  was  one  of  the  learned  men  of  Mas- 
sachusetts and  a  great  orator.  In  his  address  on  the 
"  Scholar  in  a  Republic,"  he  said  that  "  The  people 
make  history  while  the  scholars  only  write  it."  And 
then  he  added,  "part  truly  and  part  as  coloured  by 
their  prejudices." 

Woodrow  Wilson,  while  president  of  Princeton 
University,  said: 


200  THREE  PEIOELESS  GIFTS 

"The  great  voice  of  America  does  not  come  from 
seats  of  learning.  It  comes  in  a  murmur  from  the  hills 
and  woods,  and  the  farms  and  factories  and  the  mills, 
rolling  on  and  gaining  volume  until  it  comes  to  us  from 
the  homes  of  common  men.  Do  these  murmurs  echo  in 
the  corridors  of  our  univertisies  ?  I  have  not  heard 
them." 

President  Roosevelt,  while  in  the  White  House,  pre- 
sented an  even  stronger  indictment  against  some  of  the 
scholars.  In  a  speech  delivered  to  law  students  at 
Harvard  he  declared  that  there  was  scarcely  a  great 
conspiracy  against  the  public  welfare  that  did  not  have 
Harvard  brains  behind  it.  He  need  not  have  gone  to 
Harvard  to  utter  this  terrific  indictment  against  college 
graduates;  he  might  have  gone  to  Yale,  or  Columbia, 
or  Princeton,  or  to  any  other  great  university,  or  even 
to  smaller  colleges.  It  would  not  take  long  to  correct 
the  abuses  of  which  the  people  complain  but  for  the 
fact  that  back  of  every  abuse  are  the  hired  brains  of 
scholars  who  turn  against  society  and  use  for  society's 
harm  the  very  strength  that  society  has  bestowed  upon 
them. 

Let  me  give  you  an  illustration  in  point,  and  so  re- 
cent that  one  will  be  sufficient:  A  few  months  ago  the 
Supreme  Court  at  Washington  handed  down  a  decision 
overturning  every  argument  made  against  the  Eight- 
eenth Amendment  and  the  enforcement  law.  Who 
represented  the  liquor  traffic  in  that  august  tribunal? 
Not  brewery  workers,  employees  in  distilleries,  or 
bartenders ;  these  could  not  speak  for  the  liquor  traffic 
in  the  Supreme  Court.  No!  Lawyers  must  be  em- 
ployed,   and   they  were   easily    found — big   lawyers, 


THEEE  PEICELESS  GIFTS  201 

scholars,  who  attempted  to  overthrow  the  bulwark  that 
society  has  erected  for  the  protection  of  the  homes  of 
the  country. 

Every  reform  has  to  be  fought  through  the  legisla- 
tures and  the  courts  until  it  is  finally  settled  by  the 
highest  court  in  our  land,  and  there,  vanquished  wrong 
expires  in  the  arms  of  learned  lawyers  who  sell  their 
souls  to  do  evil — who  attempt  to  rend  society  with  the 
very  power  that  our  institutions  of  learning  have  con- 
ferred upon  them.  All  of  our  reforms  would  be  led 
by  scholars,  if  all  scholars  appreciated  as  they  should 
the  gift  of  education.  There  are,  of  course,  a  multi- 
tude of  noble  illustrations  of  scholars  consecrating 
their  learning  to  the  service  of  the  people,  but  many 
scholars  are  indifferent  to  the  injustice  done  to  the 
masses  and  some  actually  obstruct  needed  reforms — 
and  they  do  it  for  pay. 

My  second  illustration  is  even  more  important,  for 
it  deals  with  the  heart.  I  am  interested  in  education ; 
if  I  had  my  way  every  child  in  all  the  world  would  be 
educated.  God  forbid  that  I  should  draw  a  line 
through  society  and  say  that  the  children  on  one  side 
shall  be  educated  and  the  children  on  the  other  side 
condemned  to  the  night  of  ignorance.  I  shall  assume 
no  such  responsibility.  I  am  anxious  that  my  children 
and  grandchildren  shall  be  educated,  and  I  do  not  de- 
sire for  a  child  or  grandchild  of  mine  anything  that  I 
would  not  like  to  see  every  other  child  enjoy.  Chil- 
dren come  into  the  world  without  their  own  volition — 
they  are  here  as  a  part  of  the  Almighty's  plan — and 
there  is  not  a  child  born  on  God's  footstool  that  has  not 


202  THEEE  PEICELESS  GIFTS 

as  much  right  to  all  that  life  can  give  as  your  child  or 
my  child.  Education  increases  one's  capacity  for 
service  and  thus  enlarges  the  reward  that  one  can 
rightfully  draw  from  society;  therefore,  every  one  is 
entitled  to  the  advantages  of  education. 

There  is  no  reason  why  every  human  being  should 
not  have  both  a  good  heart  and  a  trained  mind;  but,  if 
I  were  compelled  to  choose  between  the  two,  I  would 
rather  that  one  should  have  a  good  heart  than  a  trained 
mind.  A  good  heart  can  make  a  dull  brain  useful  to 
society,  but  a  bad  heart  cannot  make  a  good  use  of  any 
brain,  however  trained  or  brilliant. 

When  we  deal  with  the  heart  we  must  deal  with  re- 
ligion, for  religion  controls  the  heart;  and,  when  we 
consider  religion  we  find  that  the  religious  environ- 
ment that  surrounds  our  young  people  is  as  favourable 
as  their  intellectual  environment.  As  in  the  case  of 
education,  lack  of  appreciation  may  be  due  in  part  to 
lack  of  opportunity  to  make  comparison.  If  we  visit 
Asia,  where  the  philosophy  of  Confucius  controls,  or 
where  they  worship  Buddha,  or  follow  Mahomet,  or 
observe  the  forms  of  the  Hindu  religion,  we  find  that 
except  where  they  have  borrowed  from  Christian  na- 
tions, they  have  made  no  progress  in  fifteen  hundred 
years.  Here,  all  have  the  advantage  of  Christian 
ideals,  and  yet,  according  to  statistics,  something  more 
than  half  the  adult  males  of  the  United  States  are  not 
connected  with  any  religious  organization.  Some 
scoff  at  religion,  and  a  few  are  outspoken  enemies  of 
the  Church.  Can  they  be  blind  to  the  benefits  con- 
ferred by  our  churches  ?     Security  of  life  and  property 


THEEE  PEICELESS  GIFTS  203 

is  not  entirely  due  to  criminal  laws,  to  a  sheriff  in  each 
county,  and  to  an  occasional  policeman.  The  con- 
science comes  first;  the  law  comes  afterward. 

Law  is  but  the  crystallization  of  conscience;  moral 
sentiment  must  be  created  before  it  can  express  itself 
in  the  form  of  a  statute.  Every  preacher  and  priest, 
therefore,  whether  his  congregation  be  large  or  small, 
who  quickens  the  conscience  of  those  who  hear  him 
helps  the  community.  Every  church  of  every  denomi- 
nation, whether  important  or  unimportant,  that  helps 
to  raise  the  moral  standards  of  the  land  benefits  all 
who  live  under  the  flag,  whether  they  acknowledge 
their  obligations  or  not. 

But  lack  of  appreciation  on  the  part  of  those  outside 
the  Church  would  not  disturb  us  so  much  if  all  the 
church  members  lived  up  to  their  obligations.  How 
much  is  it  worth  to  one  to  be  born  again?  Of  what 
value  is  it  to  have  had  the  heart  touched  by  the  Saviour 
and  so  changed  that  it  loves  the  things  it  used  to  hate 
and  hates  the  things  it  formerly  loved?  Of  what  value 
is  it  to  have  one's  life  so  transformed  that,  instead  of 
resembling  a  stagnant  pool,  it  becomes  like  a  living 
spring,  giving  forth  constantly  that  which  refreshes 
and  invigorates?  What  is  it  worth  to  the  Christian, 
and  what  is  it  worth  to  those  about  him,  to  have  his 
life  brought  by  Christ  into  such  vital  living  contact  with 
the  Heavenly  Father,  that  that  life  becomes  the  means 
through  which  the  goodness  of  God  pours  out  to  the 
world  ? 

But,  I  go  a  step  farther  and  ask  whether  the  Church 
as  an  organization — ^not  any  one  denomination,  but  the 


204  THEEE  PRICELESS  GIFTS 

Church  universal — appreciates  its  great  opportunities, 
its  tremendous  responsibiUty,  and  the  infinite  power 
behind  it.  If  the  Church  is  what  we  beUeve  it  to  be 
it  must  be  prepared  to  grapple  with  every  problem,  in- 
dividual and  social,  whether  it  affects  only  a  community 
or  involves  a  state,  a  nation,  or  a  world.  There  must 
be  some  intelligence  large  enough  to  direct  the  world 
or  the  world  will  run  amuck.  We  believe  that  God  is 
the  only  intelligence  capable  of  governing  the  world, 
and  God  must  act  through  the  Church  or  outside  of  it. 
If  the  Church  is  not  big  enough  to  act  as  the  mouth- 
piece of  the  Almighty — not  in  the  sense  that  the 
Church  ought  to  exercise  governmental  authority,  but 
its  members,  seeking  light  from  the  Heavenly  Father 
through  prayer,  should  be  able  to  act  wisely  as  citizens 
— if,  I  repeat,  the  Church  is  not  big  enough  to  deal 
with  the  problems  that  confront  the  world,  then  the 
Church  must  give  way  to  some  more  competent  or- 
ganization. Christians  have  no  other  alternative ;  they 
must  believe  that  the  teachings  of  Christ  can  be  suc- 
cess fully  applied  to  every  problem  that  the  individual 
has  to  meet  and  to  every  problem  with  zvhich  govern- 
ments have  to  deal.  I  have  in  another  lecture  in  this 
series  called  attention  to  Christ's  all-inclusive  claim  set 
forth  in  the  closing  verses  of  the  last  chapter  of  Mat- 
thew, but  I  must  repeat  it  here  because  it  is  the  basis  of 
what  I  desire  to  say  on  this  branch  of  the  subject. 
Christ  declared  that  all  power  had  been  given  into  His 
hands ;  He  sent  His  followers  out  to  make  disciples  of 
all  nations ;  and  He  promised  to  be  with  them  always, 
even  unto  the  end  of  the  world.     If  the  Church  takes 


THEEE  PEICELESS  GIFTS  206 

Christ  at  His  word  and  claims  to  be  His  representative 
on  earth  it  cannot  shirk  its  duty. 

If  Christians  are  as  grateful  to  God,  to  Christ,  and 
to  the  Bible  as  they  should  be,  they  will  give  attention 
to  every  problem  that  affects  the  individual,  the  com- 
munity, and  the  larger  units  of  society  and  govern- 
ment. They  will  consider  it  their  duty  to  carry  their 
religion  into  business  and  politics  and  to  apply  the 
teachings  of  Christ  to  every  subject  that  affects  human 
welfare.  In  another  lecture  I  call  attention  to  the 
Church's  duty  to  reconcile  capital  and  labour,  and  to 
teach  God's  law  of  rewards. 

The  third  gift  to  which  I  would  call  your  attention 
is  the  form  of  government  under  which  we  live.  Ours 
is  a  government  in  which  the  people  rule  from  the  low- 
est unit  to  the  highest  office  in  the  nation.  Nearly  all 
of  our  officials  are  elected  by  popular  vote,  and  those 
appointed  are  appointed  by  officers  who  are  elected. 
The  tendency  is  everywhere  more  and  more  toward 
popular  government.  Some  people  are  afraid  of 
Democracy  but  a  larger  number  of  people  believe  that 
"  more  democracy  is  the  cure  for  such  evils  as  have 
been  developed  under  popular  government."  The 
Christian  is  a  citizen  of  the  republic  as  well  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  church  and  must  practice  his  religion.  I 
have  not  time  to  speak  of  our  government  in  detail ;  it 
is  rather  my  purpose  at  this  time  to  call  attention  to  the 
gift  of  popular  government  as  we  find  it  in  the  nation. 

Let  us  begin,  then,  with  a  presidential  election.  I 
shall  not  yield  to  the  strong  temptation  to  describe  a 
presidential  election ;  suffice  to  say  that  our  campaigns 


206  THEEE  PEICELESS  GIFTS 

begin  with  the  election  of  delegates  to  a  National  Con- 
vention (I  hope  they  will  some  day  begin  with  the 
nomination  of  presidential  candidates  at  primaries  held 
by  all  the  parties,  in  all  the  states,  on  the  same  day). 
The  campaigns  last  long  enough  to  make  the  candi- 
dates so  weary  that  they  gladly  resign  themselves  to 
any  result  if  they  can  only  live  to  election  day. 

The  campaigns  increase  in  intensity  week  after  week 
and  expire,  or  explode,  in  a  blaze  of  glory  the  night 
before  election,  at  which  time  the  committees  of  the 
leading  parties  set  forth  the  reasons  that  make  each 
side  certain  of  success.  On  election  day  a  hush  spreads 
over  the  land  and  the  voters  wend  their  way  to  the 
polling  places,  where  each  voter  is  permitted  to  register 
a  sovereign's  will.  Usually  by  midnight  the  wires 
flash  out  the  name  of  one  who  is  to  be  added  to  the  list 
of  Presidents.  We  give  him  a  few  weeks  to  rest  and 
get  ready  and  then,  on  a  certain  day  in  March  and  at 
a  certain  hour,  he  goes  to  the  White  House  door  and 
knocks.  The  occupant  opens  the  door,  and  with  a 
wearied  look  upon  his  face,  and  yet  a  smile,  says,  "  I 
was  expecting  you  just  at  this  moment."  Then  the 
man  on  the  inside  of  the  White  House  goes  out  and 
becomes  a  private  citizen  again,  while  the  man  on  the 
outside  goes  in,  takes  the  oath  of  office  and  is  clothed 
with  authority  such  as  no  other  human  being,  but  a 
President,  ever  exercised. 

He  writes  an  order  and  ships  go  out  to  sea  with  their 
big-mouthed  guns;  he  writes  another  order  and  the 
ships  return.  At  his  command  armies  assemble  and 
march  and  fight,  and  men  die ;  at  his  word  armies  dis- 


THEEE  PEICELESS  GIFTS  207 

solve  and  soldiers  become  citizens  again.  This  goes 
on  for  just  so  many  years  and  months  and  weeks  and 
days — for  just  so  many  hours  and  minutes  and  sec- 
onds, and  then  there  is  another  knock  on  the  White 
House  door  and  another  man  comes  with  a  new  com- 
mission from  the  people. 

Is  it  not  a  great  thing  to  live  in  a  land  like  this  where 
the  people  can,  at  the  polls,  select  one  of  their  number 
and  lift  him  to  this  pinnacle  of  power?  And  is  it  not 
greater  still  that  the  people  are  able  to  reduce  a  Presi- 
dent to  the  ranks  as  well  as  to  lift  him  up?  When 
they  elevate  him  he  is  just  common  clay,  but  when  they 
take  him  down  from  his  high  place  they  separate  him 
from  those  instrumentalities  of  government  which  des- 
pots have  employed  for  the  enslavement  of  their 
people. 

And  why  is  it  that  we  live  under  a  government  rest- 
ing upon  the  consent  of  the  governed,  and  in  a  land  in 
which  the  people  rule?  Because  throughout  the  cen- 
turies millions  of  the  best  and  the  bravest  have  given 
their  lives  that  we  might  be  free.  Every  right  of 
which  we  boast  is  a  blood-bought  right,  and  bought  by 
the  blood  of  others,  not  our  own.  Would  you  not 
think  that  people  who  inherit  such  a  government  as 
this  would  be  grateful  for  the  priceless  gift  and  live  up 
to  every  obligation  of  citizenship?  It  would  seem  so, 
and  yet  those  acquainted  with  politics  know  that  the 
difficult  task  is  to  get  the  vote  out.  Even  in  a  hotly 
contested  presidential  election  we  never  get  the  full 
vote  out.  If  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  vote  is  polled  we 
are  happy ;  if  eighty-five  per  cent,  is  polled  we  are  sat- 


208  THREE  PRICELESS  GIFTS 

isfied.  If  it  is  an  intermediate  election  the  vote  may 
be  less  than  eighty  per  cent.,  or  even  seventy-five.  In 
a  primary,. which  is  often  more  important  than  an  elec- 
tion, the  vote  sometimes  falls  below  fifty,  or  even  forty 
per  cent. 

And  what  excuses  do  men  give?  Often  the  most 
trivial.  One  man  says  that  he  had  some  work  to  do 
and  could  not  spare  the  time — as  if  any  work  could  be 
more  important  than  voting  in  a  Republic.  Another 
was  visiting  his  wife's  relatives  and  a  family  dinner 
made  it  inconvenient  for  him  to  return  in  time  to  vote. 
A  few  years  ago  I  met  a  man  on  the  train  who  told  me 
that  he  had  not  voted  for  ten  years.  When  I  asked 
him  why,  he  explained  that  he  had  voted  for  a  neigh- 
bour for  a  state  office — he  declared  that  the  neighbour 
could  not  have  been  elected  without  his  help — and  yet 
when  the  election  was  over  the  successful  candidate 
failed  to  invite  him  to  a  dinner  given  to  celebrate  the 
victory.  "And,"  he  added,  "  I  just  made  up  my  mind 
that  if  I  could  be  so  deceived  by  a  man  who  lived  next 
door  to  me  I  did  not  have  sense  enough  to  vote,  and  I 
have  not  voted  since." 

We  are  all  liable  to  make  mistakes,  but  a  mistake  at 
one  election  is  no  justification  for  failure  to  vote  at 
other  elections.  We  must  do  the  best  we  can ;  and  we 
must  not  be  discouraged  if  the  men  elected  do  not  do 
all  that  we  expect  of  them.  The  government  is  not 
perfect  and  never  will  be,  no  matter  what  party  is  in 
power.  When  the  Democrats  are  in  power  I  can  prove 
by  all  the  Republicans  that  the  government  is  not  per- 
fect ;  when  the  Republicans  are  in  power  I  can  prove  by 


THEEE  PEICELESS  GIFTS  209 

the  Democrats  that  the  government  is  not  perfect. 
Governments  are  administered  by  human  beings;  we 
must  expect  honest  men  to  make  mistakes  and  we  must 
not  be  surprised  if,  occasionally,  an  official  embezzles 
power  and  turns  to  his  own  advantage  the  authority 
entrusted  to  him  to  use  for  the  public  good.  We 
should  punish  him  and  try  to  safeguard  the  people. 
The  initiative  and  referendum  are  valuable  because 
they  enable  the  people  to  protect  themselves  from  mis- 
representation. 

But  even  if  the  government  could  be  made  perfect 
to-day  it  would  be  imperfect  to-morrow.  Times 
change  and  new  conditions  arise  that  make  new  laws 
necessary.  As  the  remedy  cannot  precede  the  disease 
and  cannot  be  applied  until  the  public  becomes  ac- 
quainted with  the  disease  and  has  time  to  choose  the 
remedy,  there  is  always  something  that  needs  to  be 
done.  If  Christians  do  not  make  it  their  business  to 
understand  their  government's  needs  and  to  propose 
laws  that  are  necessary,  others  will.  Are  any  more 
worthy  to  be  trusted  than  Christians  ? 

Even  constitutions  must  be  changed  in  order  that 
our  government  may  be  in  the  hands  of  the  living 
rather  than  in  the  hands  of  the  dead.  Those  who 
wrote  our  Constitution  were  very  wise  men  and  yet  the 
wisest  thing  they  did  was  to  include  a  provision  which 
enabled  those  who  came  after  them  to  change  anything 
that  they  wrote  into  the  Constitution. 

Jefferson  thought  a  constitution  should  be  brought 
up  to  date  by  every  generation.  Nineteen  changes 
have  been  made  in  our  Constitution  by  amendment 


210  THEEE  PEICELESS  GIFTS 

since  the  Constitution  was  adopted  and  four  of  these 
have  been  adopted  within  the  last  ten  years.  I  venture 
to  call  attention  to  the  later  ones  for  two  purposes; 
first,  to  show  how  long  it  takes  to  amend  the  Constitu- 
tion and  why;  second,  to  remind  you  that  these  four 
great  amendments  have  been  adopted  by  joint  action 
by  the  two  great  parties. 

It  required  twenty-one  years  to  secure  the  amend- 
ment providing  for  popular  election  of  United  States 
Senators  after  the  amendment  was  first  endorsed  by 
the  House  of  Representatives  at  Washington.  For 
one  hundred  and  three  years  after  the  adoption  of  the 
Federal  Constitution  the  people  tolerated  the  election 
of  Senators  by  legislatures  before  there  was  a  protest 
that  rose  to  the  dignity  of  a  Congressional  resolution. 
A  Republican  President,  Andrew  Johnson,  recom- 
mended the  change  in  a  message  to  Congress.  Some 
ten  years  later,  General  Weaver,  a  Populist  Represent- 
ative in  Congress  from  Iowa,  Introduced  a  resolution 
proposing  an  amendment  providing  for  the  popular 
election  of  Senators,  but  no  action  was  taken  at  that 
time.  In  1902  a  Democratic  House  of  Representa- 
tives at  Washington  passed  a  resolution,  by  the  neces- 
sary two-thirds  vote,  submitting  the  proposed  amend- 
ment. Hon.  Harry  St.  George  Tucker,  of  Virginia, 
was  the  chairman  of  the  committee  when  this  resolu- 
tion passed  the  House.  A  similar  resolution  passed 
the  House  on  five  separate  occasions  afterward  (twice 
when  the  House  was  Democratic  and  three  times  when 
it  was  Republican)  before  it  could  pass  the  Senate. 
The  amendment  was  finally  submitted  by  joint  action 


THEEE  PRICELESS  GIFTS  211 

of  a  Democratic  House  and  a  Republican  Senate  and 
was  ratified  in  a  short  time,  Democratic  and  Republi- 
can states  vying  with  each  other  in  furnishing  the  nec- 
essary number.  In  1913  it  became  my  privilege,  as 
Secretary  of  State,  to  sign  the  last  document  necessary 
to  make  this  amendment  a  part  of  the  Constitution.  I 
have  dwelt  upon  this  contest  at  some  length  in  order 
to  call  attention  to  the  time  it  took  to  secure  the  change 
and  to  the  fact  that  the  two  parties  share  the  honour  of 
making  the  change. 

It  took  seventeen  years  to  secure  the  amendment  to 
the  Constitution  authorizing  an  income  tax.  The  In- 
come Tax  Law,  enacted  in  1894,  was  declared  uncon- 
stitutional by  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  by  a 
majority  of  one,  in  1895.  In  1896  the  fight  for  a  con- 
stitutional amendment  was  inaugurated  and  the 
amendment  was  ratified  and  became  a  part  of  the 
Constitution  early  in  1913.  This  amendment,  like  the 
amendment  providing  for  popular  election  of  United 
States  Senators,  required  many  years,  and  for  the 
same  reason,  viz.,  that  the  people  were  not  alert  as 
they  should  have  been,  not  as  vigilant  as  they  should 
be.  In  the  case  of  the  Income  Tax  Amendment  also, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  other,  the  two  parties  contributed 
to  the  change  in  the  Constitution  and  share  the  glory 
together.  The  first  amendment  brought  the  United 
States  Senate  nearer  the  people  and  opened  the  way 
for  other  reforms;  the  second  made  It  possible  to  ap- 
portion more  equitably  the  burdens  of  the  govern- 
ment. 

The  Income  Tax  Amendment  was  adopted- just  in 


212  THBEE  PRICELESS  GIFTS 

time  to  enable  the  government  to  collect  the  revenue 
needed  for  the  recent  war.  During  the  seventeen  years 
covered  by  the  struggle  for  this  amendment  the  gov- 
ernment was  impotent  to  tax  wealth ;  it  could  draft  the 
man  but  not  the  pocketbook.  What  would  have  been 
the  feeling  among  the  people  if  we  had  entered  the  late 
war  under  such  a  handicap  ?  How  would  conscription 
have  been  received  if  it  applied  to  father,  husband  and 
son  and  not  to  wealth  also  ? 

And  then,  too,  the  Income  Tax  Amendment  came 
just  in  time  to  answer  the  last  argument  made  in  fa- 
vour of  the  saloon.  Those  engaged  in  the  liquor  traf- 
fic, after  being  defeated  on  all  other  points,  massed  be- 
hind the  proposition  that  the  government  needed  the 
revenue  from  whiskey,  beer,  and  saloons.  As  soon  as 
the  government  was  able  to  collect  an  income  tax  the 
friends  of  prohibition  were  able  to  look  the  liquor 
dealers  in  the  face  and  say,  "  Never  again  will  an 
American  boy  be  auctioned  off  to  a  saloon  for  money 
to  run  the  government;  we  now  have  other  sources 
from  which  to  draw." 

The  third  of  the  amendments  was  also  a  long  time 
in  coming  and  was  finally  brought  by  joint  action  of 
Democrats  and  Republicans.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
trace  the  growth  of  this  reform.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
the  Christian  churches  were  the  dominating  force  be- 
hind the  prohibition  movement  and  that  the  South 
played  a  very  prominent  part  in  driving  out  the  saloon. 
More  than  two-thirds  of  the  Senators  and  members 
from  the  Southern  States  voted  for  the  submission  of 
National  Prohibition  after  nearly  all  the  Southern 


THEEE  PEICELESS  GIFTS  213 

States  had  adopted  prohibition  by  individual  act.  The 
first  four  states  to  ratify  were  Southern  Democratic 
States — Mississippi,  Virginia,  Kentucky,  and  South 
CaroHna.  It  is  only  fair,  however,  to  say  that  the 
West  contested  with  the  South  the  honour  of  leading 
in  this  fight,  and  that  the  Northern  States  finally  did 
nearly  as  well  as  the  Southern  States  in  the  matter  of 
ratifying.  And  it  is  better  that  the  victory  should  be 
a  joint  one,  expressing  the  conscience  of  the  nation  re- 
gardless of  party,  than  that  it  should  be  merely  a  party 
victory. 

But  the  real  credit  for  leadership  belongs  not  to  any 
party  or  to  any  section,  but  to  those  whose  consciences 
were  quickened  by  the  teachings  of  the  Bible.  Total 
abstinence  was  naturally  more  prevalent  among  church 
members  than  among  those  outside  of  the  church,  and 
this,  of  course,  was  the  foundation  upon  which  pro- 
hibition rested.  The  arguments  against  the  use  of 
liquor  are  the  basis  of  the  arguments  in  favour  of  pro- 
hibition. Because  liquor  is  harmful  the  saloon  is  in- 
tolerable. 

I  venture  to  set  forth  the  fundamental  propositions 
upon  which  the  arguments  for  prohibition  rested. 

First:  God  never  made  a  human  being  who,  in  a  nor- 
mal state,  needed  alcohol. 

Second:  God  never  made  a  human  being  strong 
enough  to  begin  the  use  of  alcohol  and  be  sure 
that  he  would  not  become  its  victim. 

Third:  God  never  fixed  a  day  in  a  human  life  after 
which  it  is  safe  to  begin  the  use  of  intoxicating 
liquors. 


214  THREE  PRICELESS  GIFTS 

These  three  propositions  can  be  stated  without  limi- 
tation or  mental  reservation.  They  apply  to  all  who 
now  live  and  to  all  who  ever  lived;  and  will  apply  to 
all  who  may  live  hereafter.  To  these  may  be  added 
three  propositions  which  apply  especially  to  Christians. 

First:  The  Christian  is  a  Christian  because  he  has 
given  himself  in  pledge  of  service  to  God  and  to  Christ. 
What  moral  right  has  he  to  take  into  his  body  that 
which  he  knows  will  lessen  his  capacity  for  service  and 
may  destroy  even  his  desire  to  serve? 

Second:  What  moral  right  has  a  Christian  to  spend 
for  intoxicating  liquor  money  needed  for  the  many 
noble  and  needy  causes  that  appeal  to  a  Christian's 
heart?  The  Christian,  repeating  the  language  taught 
him  by  the  Master,  prays  to  the  Heavenly  Father, 
"  Thy  kingdom  come ;  "  what  right  has  he  to  rise  from 
his  knees  and  spend  for  intoxicating  liquor  money  that 
he  can  spare  to  hasten  the  coming  of  God's  kingdom  on 
earth  ? 

Third:  What  right  has  a  Christian  to  throw  the  In- 
fluence of  his  example  on  the  side  of  a  habit  that  has 
brought  millions  to  the  grave  ?  We  shall  have  enough 
to  answer  for  when  we  stand  before  the  judgment  bar 
of  God  without  having  a  ruined  soul  arise  and  testify 
that  it  was  a  Christian's  example  that  led  him  to  his 
ruin.  Paul  declared  that  if  meat  made  his  brother  to 
offend  he  would  eat  no  meat.  What  Christian  can  af- 
ford to  say  less  in  regard  to  Intoxicants?  If  the 
Christian  drinks  only  a  little  It  Is  a  small  sacrifice  to 
make  for  the  aid  of  his  brother;  If  the  Christian  drinks 
enough  to  make  stopping  a  real  sacrifice  he  ought  to 


THEEE  PEICELESS  GIFTS  215 

Stop  for  his  own  sake,  on  his  family's  account  and  out 
of  respect  for  his  church. 

While  the  harmfulness  of  liquor  was  the  foundation 
upon  which  the  opposition  to  the  saloon  was  built,  it 
may  be  worth  while  to  add  that  popular  government, 
by  putting  responsibility  upon  the  voters,  compelled 
the  Christian  to  vote  against  the  saloon  licenses.  In 
all  civilized  countries  the  sale  of  liquor  is  now  so  re- 
stricted that  it  cannot  be  lawfully  offered  for  sale  with- 
out a  license.  As  the  license  is  necessary  to  the  exist- 
ence of  the  saloon — as  necessary  as  the  liquor  sold  over 
the  bar — the  Christian  who  voted  for  a  license  became 
as  much  a  partner  in  the  business  as  the  man  who  dis- 
pensed it,  and  he  had  even  less  excuse.  The  manufac- 
turer and  the  bartender  could  plead  in  extenuation  that 
they  made  money  out  of  the  business  and  money  has 
led  multitudes  into  sin.  For  money  many  have  been 
willing  to  steal ;  for  money  some  have  been  willing  to 
murder;  for  money  a  few  have  been  willing  to  sell 
their  country;  for  money  one  man  was  willing  to  be- 
tray the  Saviour.  The  Christian  who  voted  for  li- 
censes had  not  even  the  poor  excuse  of  those  who 
engaged  in  the  business  for  mercenary  reasons.  As 
the  consciences  became  awakened,  therefore,  Chris- 
tians, in  increasing  numbers,  refused  to  share  responsi- 
bility for  the  saloon  and  what  it  did. 

Science  contributed  largely  to  the  final  victory. 
People  used  to  say  that  drinking  did  not  hurt  if  one 
did  not  drink  too  much.  But  no  one  could  define  how 
much  "  too  much  "  was.  The  invisible  line  between 
"  just  enough  "  and  "  too  much  "  is  like  the  line  of  the 


216  THEEE  PRICELESS  GIFTS 

horizon — it  recedes  as  you  approach  until  it  is  lost  in 
the  darkness  of  the  night. 

Science  proved  that  it  is  not  immoderate  drinking 
only,  but  any  drinking  that  is  harmful,  and,  therefore, 
that  the  real  line  is  that  between  not  drinking  and 
drinking. 

Science  has  also  demonstrated,  as  I  have  shown  in 
another  lecture,  that  drinking  decreases  one's  expect- 
ancy, according  to  insurance  tables;  a  young  man  at 
twenty-one  must  deliberately  decide  to  shorten  his  life 
by  more  than  ten  per  cent,  if  he  becomes  an  habitual 
drinker. 

But,  what  is  worse,  science  has  shown  that  alcohol  is 
a  poison  that  runs  in  the  blood,  so  that  the  drinking  of 
the  father  or  mother  may  curse  a  child  unborn  and 
close  the  door  of  hope  upon  it  before  its  eyes  have 
opened  to  the  light  of  day. 

Business  aided  us  also,  as  large  corporations  increas- 
ingly discriminated  against  those  who  drank. 

Patriotism  furnished  the  last  impulse;  war  threw  a 
ghastly  light  upon  the  evils  of  intemperance  and  upon 
the  sordid  greed  of  those  engaged  in  the  liquor  busi- 
ness. 

The  reform  will  not  turn  back.  Enforcement  will 
become  more  strict  in  this  country  as  its  benefits  are 
more  clearly  shown  and  prohibition  will  spread  until 
the  saloon  will  be  abolished  throughout  the  world.  Al- 
though now  past  sixty-one  I  expect  to  live  to  see  the 
day  when  there  will  not  be  an  open  saloon  under  the 
flag  of  any  civilized  nation. 

We  are  now  able  to  prevent  typhoid  fever,  the  indi- 


THREE  PRICELESS  GIFTS  217 

vidual  being  made  immune  by  a  treatment  adminis- 
tered before  he  has  been  exposed  to  the  disease.  Total 
abstinence  resembles  this  preventive ;  no  total  ab- 
stainer is  in  danger  of  alcoholism. 

But  we  also  have  a  preventive  for  yellow  fever, 
namely,  the  destroying  of  the  breeding  place  of  the 
mosquito  which  carries  the  germ  of  the  disease.  Pro- 
hibition resembles  this  preventive.  The  saloon  was 
found  to  be  the  breeding  place  of  alcoholism  and  pro- 
hibition strikes  at  the  source  of  the  danger.  These 
two,  total  abstinence  and  prohibition,  will  eliminate  the 
drink  evil  as  typhoid  and  yellow  fever  have  been 
eliminated. 

The  fourth  amendment  adopted  in  recent  years  ex- 
tended equal  suffrage  to  women.  Like  the  three  to 
which  I  have  referred,  it  was  a  long  time  coming  and 
came  at  last  by  joint  action  of  the  two  great  parties. 
A  majority  of  both  parties  in  both  Senate  and  House 
voted  for  the  submission  of  this  amendment  and  it 
required  both  Democratic  and  Republican  states  to 
ratify  it.  The  opposition  which  the  amendment  met 
in  the  South  was  not  due  to  lack  of  confidence  in 
women,  for  nowhere  in  the  world  is  woman  more 
highly  estimated  or  more  fully  trusted.  Such  local 
opposition  as  there  was  was  due  to  the  race  question. 
Now  that  woman  can  express  herself  at  the  polls,  her 
influence  will  be  felt  as  much  in  the  South  as  in  other 
sections;  it  will  throughout  the  United  States  seal  the 
doom  of  the  liquor  traffic.  The  women  will  stand 
guard  at  the  grave  of  John  Barleycorn  and  make  sure 
that  he  will  never  know  a  resurrection  morn. 


218  THKEE  PEICELESS  GIFTS 

Drawing  their  inspiration  from  the  Bible,  even  to  a 
greater  extent  than  the  men  do,  the  women  will  hasten 
the  triumph  of  every  righteous  cause.  They  will 
throw  their  influence  on  the  side  of  every  moral  re- 
form. The  adoption  of  the  single  standard  of  morals 
will  be  made  possible  by  woman's  advent  into  politics. 
Her  ballot  will  make  it  easier  to  lift  man  to  her  level 
in  the  matter  of  chastity  and  to  distribute  more  equi- 
tably than  man  has  done,  the  punishments  imposed  for 
acts  of  immorality. 

Woman  has  come  into  power  in  politics  at  a  time 
when  she  can  aid  in  the  promotion  of  world  peace  by 
compelling  the  establishment  of  machinery  which  will 
substitute  reason  for  force  in  the  settlement  of  inter- 
national disputes.  Her  first  great  triumph  at  the  polls 
may  be  the  fulfilling  of  the  prophecy,  spoken  more  than 
two  thousand  years  ago,  that  swords  shall  be  beaten 
into  ploughshares  and  that  nations  shall  learn  war  no 
more.  She  will  be  repaid  for  all  her  patience  and  her 
waiting  if  now,  by  her  ballot,  she  can  make  it  unneces- 
sary for  another  mother's  son  to  be  offered  upon  the 
altar  of  Mars.  That  this  nation  is  in  a  better  position 
than  ever  before  to  lead  the  world  in  every  good  cause 
is  due  to  the  gifts  that  have  come  with  American  citi- 
zenship, only  three  of  which  I  have  had  time  to  men- 
tion. 

Every  citizen  should  be  honest  with  himself,  exam- 
ine his  own  heart  and  answer  to  his  own  conscience. 
What  estimate  does  he  place  upon  the  education  which 
he  has  received?  What  value  does  he  put  upon  the 
religion  that  controls  his  heart  ?     How  highly  does  he 


THREE  PRICELESS  GIFTS  219 

prize  the  form  of  government  under  which  he  lives? 
Let  him  put  his  own  appraisement  upon  these  three 
great  gifts;  these  sums  added  together  will  represent 
his  acknowledged  indebtedness  to  society ;  then  let  him 
resolve  to  pay  so  much  of  this  incalculable  debt  as  is 
within  his  power. 

We  live  in  a  goodly  land.  No  king  can  shape  our 
nation's  destiny;  not  even  a  President  can  have  the 
final  word  as  to  what  our  nation  is  to  be.  Each  citi- 
zen, no  matter  how  humble  that  citizen  may  be,  can 
have  a  part.  Let  us  do  our  part;  joining  together,  let 
us  solve  the  problems  with  which  we  have  to  deal,  and, 
by  so  doing,  bless  our  country  and,  through  it,  other 
lands.  Let  us  join  together  and  raise  the  light  of  our 
civilization  so  high  that  its  rays,  illumining  every  land, 
may  lead  the  world  to  those  better  things  for  which  the 
world  is  praying. 


VIII 
"HIS  GOVERNMENT  AND  PEACE'* 

BY  way  of  introduction,  allow  me  to  say  that  I 
fully  recognize  the  difference  between  a  pre- 
sentation of  fundamental  principles  and  an 
application  of  those  principles  to  life.  While  an  appli- 
cation of  principles  arouses  greater  interest  it  is  more 
apt  to  bring  out  differences  of  opinion  and  to  excite 
controversy.  But  the  Christian  is  always  open-minded 
because  he  desires  to  know  the  right  and  to  do  it.  He 
"  prove (s)  all  things  and  hold(s)  fast  that  which  is 
good."  Therefore,  he  welcomes  light  on  every  subject, 
from  every  source.  It  is  in  this  spirit  that  I  speak 
to  you  and  it  is  this  spirit  that  I  invoke.  I  speak  from 
conviction,  formed  after  prayerful  investigation,  and 
am  as  anxious  to  be  informed  as  I  am  to  inform. 

Some  twenty  years  ago  I  turned  back  to  the  sixth 
verse  of  the  ninth  chapter  of  Isaiah  to  refresh  my 
memory  on  the  titles  bestowed  on  the  Messiah  whose 
coming  the  prophet  foretold.  After  reading  verse  six, 
my  eyes  fell  on  verse  seven  and  it  impressed  me  as  it 
had  not  on  former  readings.  This  was  probably  be- 
cause I  had  recently  been  giving  attention  to  govern- 
mental problems  and  had  occasionally  heard  advanced 
a  very  gloomy  philosophy,  namely,  that  a  government, 
being  the  work  of  man,  must,  like  man,  pass  through 

220 


**HIS  GOVEENMENT  AND  PEACE"        221 

certain  changes  that  mark  a  human  life — that  is,  be 
bom,  grow  strong,  and  then,  after  a  period  of  matu- 
rity, decline  and  die.  It  is  a  repulsive  doctrine  and 
my  heart  rebelled  against  it.  It  offends  one's  patriot- 
ism, too,  to  be  compelled  to  admit  that,  in  spite  of  all 
that  can  be  done,  our  government  must  some  day  per- 
ish. In  verse  seven  we  read  of  a  government  that  will 
not  die: 

"  Of  the  increase  of  his  government  and  peace  there 
shall  be  no  end,  ...  to  establish  it  with  judg- 
ment and  with  justice  from  henceforth  even  forever.'* 

The  fault  in  the  philosophy  to  which  I  have  referred 
lies  in  the  fact  that  while  government  is  each  day  in 
control  of  those  then  living,  it  really  belongs  to  gen- 
erations rather  than  to  individuals.  As  one  genera- 
tion passes  off  the  stage  another  comes  on;  therefore, 
there  is  no  reason  why  this  government  should  ever 
be  weaker  or  worse  than  it  is  now  unless  our  people 
decline  in  virtue,  intelligence  and  patriotism.  It  should 
grow  better  as  the  people  improve. 

In  the  verse  quoted  we  find  that  the  enduring  gov- 
ernment— the  government  of  Christ — is  to  rest  on 
justice.  And  so,  our  government  must  rest  on  justice 
if  it  is  to  endure.  But  what  is  justice?  We  are  fa- 
miliar with  this  word  but  how  shall  it  be  interpreted  in 
governmental  terms  ?  Christ  furnished  the  solution — 
He  presented  a  scheme  of  Universal  Brotherhood  in 
which  justice  will  be  possible. 

To  show  how  important  this  doctrine  of  brother- 
hood is,  let  us  consider  for  a  moment  the  alternative 
relationship.     There  are  but  two  attitudes  that  one  can 


222       "HIS  GOVEENMENT  AND  PEACE" 

assume  in  regard  to  his  fellowmen — the  attitude  of 
brother  and  the  attitude  of  the  brute ;  there  is  no  mid- 
dle ground. 

This  is  the  choice  that  each  human  being  must  make 
— a  choice  as  distinct  and  fundamental  as  the  choice 
between  God  and  Baal;  and  it  is  a  choice  not  unlike 
that. 

One  may  be  a  very  weak  brother  or  a  very  feeble 
brute,  but  each  person  is,  consciously  or  unconsciously, 
controlled  by  the  sympathetic  spirit  of  brotherhood  or 
he  hunts  for  spoil  with  the  savage  hunger  of  a  beast  of 
prey. 

I  am  not  making  a  new  classification ;  I  am  merely 
calling  attention  to  a  classification  that  has  come  down 
from  the  beginning  of  history.  Many  years  ago  I 
heard  a  man  from  New  Zealand  tell  how  a  cannibal  in 
that  country  once  supported  his  claim  to  a  piece  of  land 
on  the  ground  that  the  title  passed  to  him  when  he  ate 
the  former  owner.  I  accepted  this  story  as  a  bit  of 
humour,  but  it  accurately  describes  an  historic  form  of 
title.  Even  among  the  highly  civilized  nations  gov- 
ernments convey  to  their  subjects  or  citizens  land  se- 
cured by  conquest,  the  lands  being  taken  from  the  con- 
quered by  the  conquerors.  A  tramp,  so  the  story  goes, 
being  ordered  out  of  a  nobleman's  yard,  questioned  the 
owner's  title.  The  latter  explained  that  the  title  to  the 
land  had  come  down  to  him  in  unbroken  line  from 
father  to  son  through  a  period  of  700  years,  begin- 
ning with  an  ancestor  who  fought  for  it.  "  Let's 
fight  for  it  again,"  suggested  the  tramp. 

To  show  how  ancient  is  the  distinction  that  I  am 


"HIS  GOVEENMENT  AND  PEACE »'        223 

trying  to  make  clear,  I  remind  you  that  both  the 
Psalmist  and  Solomon  used  the  word  ''  brutish  "  in 
describing  certain  kinds  of  men,  and  one  of  the  minor 
prophets  calls  down  wrath  upon  those  who  build  a  city 
with  blood.  Christ,  it  will  be  remembered,  denounced 
the  hypocrites  who  devoured  widows'  houses  and  for  a 
pretense  made  long  prayers. 

The  devouring  did  not  cease  with  that  generation; 
it  is  to-day  a  menace  to  stable  government  and  to  civili- 
zation itself.  In  times  of  peace  we  have  the  profiteer 
who  is  guilty  of  practices  which  violate  all  rules  of 
morality  even  when  they  do  not  actually  violate  statute 
law.  In  this  "  Land  of  the  free  and  home  of  the 
brave,*'  we  have  been  compelled  to  enact  laws  to  re- 
strain brutishness — not  only  laws  to  prevent  assault, 
murder,  arson,  the  white  slave  traffic,  etc.,  but  also 
laws  to  restrain  men  engaged  in  legitimate  business. 
Pure  food  laws  prevent  the  adulteration  of  that 
which  the  people  eat — ^men  were  willing  to  destroy 
health  and  even  life  in  order  to  add  to  their  profits. 
Child  labour  laws  have  become  necessary  to  keep  em- 
ployers from  dwarfing  the  bodies,  minds  and  souls  of 
the  young  in  their  haste  to  make  larger  dividends. 

Usury  laws  are  necessary  to  protect  the  borrowers 
from  the  lenders,  and,  from  occasional  violations,  we 
can  judge  what  the  condition  would  be  if  the  very  re- 
spectable business  of  banking  was  not  strictly  regulated 
by  law.  We  have  an  anti-trust  law  intended  to  pre- 
vent the  devouring  of  small  industries  by  large  ones — 
a  law  made  necessary  by  injustice  nation-wide  in  ex- 
tent. 


224       <^HIS  GOVERNMENT  AND  PEACE" 

Congress  and  the  legislatures  of  the  several  states 
are  constantly  compelled  to  legislate  against  so-called 
"  business  "  enterprises  that  are  being  conducted  on  a 
brute  basis — some  are  combinations  in  restraint  of 
trade,  others  are  merely  gambling  transactions.  For  a 
generation  the  agriculturists,  who  constitute  about  one- 
third  of  our  entire  population,  have  been  at  the  mercy 
of  a  comparatively  small  group  of  market  gamblers 
who,  by  betting,  force  prices  up  or  down  for  their  own 
pecuniary  gain.  An  anti-option  law  has  been  recently 
enacted  after  an  agitation  of  nearly  thirty  years, 
and  also  a  law  regulating  the  packers.  These 
are  only  a  few  illustrations;  they  could  be  multiplied 
without  limit.  They  show  how  unbrotherly  society 
sometimes  is  even  in  this  highly  favoured  nation. 

How  can  Christ's  teachings  relieve  the  situation? 
Easily.  He  dealt  with  fundamentals,  and  gave  spe- 
cial attention  to  the  causes  of  evil.  He  taught,  first, 
that  man  should  love  God — the  basis  of  all  religion; 
second,  He  taught  that  man  should  commune  with  the 
Heavenly  Father  through  prayer — the  basis  of  all  wor- 
ship; third,  He  proclaimed  the  existence  of  a  future 
life  in  which  the  righteous  shall  be  rewarded  and  the 
wicked  punished.  These  three  doctrines  contribute 
powerfully  to  morality,  the  basis  of  stable  government. 
In  another  address  I  have  called  attention  to  the  de- 
structive influence  exerted  by  the  doctrine  of  evolution, 
as  applied  to  man,  and  have  pointed  out  how  Darwin- 
ism weakens  faith  in  God,  makes  a  mockery  of  prayer, 
undermines  belief  in  immortality,  reduces  Christ  to 
the  stature  of  a  man,  lessens  the  sense  of  brotherhood 


<*HIS  GOVERNMENT  AND  PEACE »'        225 

and  encourages  brutishness.  It  is  unnecessary,  there- 
fore, to  dwell  upon  this  subject  in  this  address. 

Christ  warned  against  the  sins  into  which  man  is 
sure  to  fall  when  the  heart  is  not  wholly  devoted  to  the 
service  of  God.  He  shows  how  evil  in  the  heart  will 
manifest  itself  in  the  life.  Greed  is  at  the  bottom  of 
most  of  the  wrong-doing  with  which  government  has 
to  deal.  The  Bible  says  "  the  love  of  money  is  a  root 
of  all  kinds  of  evil." 

It  surely  Is  responsible  for  imspeakable  ills.  The 
case  is  so  plain  that  human  reason  would  seem  suffi- 
cient to  furnish  a  cure.  It  ought  not  to  be  difficult  to 
agree  upon  the  principles  that  should  govern  legitimate 
accumulations. 

There  are  two  propositions  that  cover  the  whole 
ground ;  one  is  economic  and  the  other  rests  upon  re- 
ligion. Both  are  based  upon  the  laws  of  God,  but  one 
can  be  enforced  by  the  government,  while  the  other  is 
binding  on  the  conscience  alone. 

The  divine  law  of  rewards  is  self-evident.  When 
God  gave  us  the  earth  with  its  fertile  soil,  the  sunshine 
with  its  warmth  and  the  rains  with  their  moisture.  His 
voice  proclaimed  as  clearly  as  if  it  had  issued  from  the 
skies:  Go  work,  and  in  proportion  to  your  industry  and 
ability  so  shall  be  your  reward.  This  is  God's  law  and 
it  will  prevail  except  where  force  suspends  it  or  cun- 
ning evades  it.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  Church  to  teach, 
and  the  duty  of  Christians  to  respect,  God's  law  of 
rewards. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  government  to  give  free  course 
and  full  sway  to  the  divine  law  of  rewards;  first,  by 


226        *^HIS  GOVERNMENT  AND  PEACE'' 

abstaining  from  interference  with  that  law;  and  sec- 
ond, by  preventing  interference  by  individuals.  No 
defense  need  be  made  of  the  righteousness  of  this  law; 
just  in  so  far  as  the  government  can  make  it  possible 
for  each  individual  to  draw  from  society  according  to 
his  contribution  to  the  welfare  of  society  it  will  en- 
courage the  maximum  of  effort  on  the  part  of  the  indi- 
vidual and,  therefore,  on  the  part  of  society  as  a  whole. 
If  some  receive  more  than  their  share,  others  will  nec- 
essarily receive  less  than  their  share — the  very  essence 
of  injustice;  the  former  will  become  indolent  because 
work  is  not  required  of  them  and  the  latter  will  grow 
desperate  because  their  toil  is  not  fairly  rewarded.  In- 
justice is  the  greatest  enemy  of  government. 

But  there  is  a  sphere  which  the  government  cannot 
and  should  not  invade.  The  government's  work  ends 
when  it  has  insured  just  rewards  by  preventing  unjust 
profits,  but  even  a  just  government  cannot  bring  about 
an  equal  distribution  of  happiness.  It  can  and  should 
guarantee  equality  before  the  law — that  is,  equality  of 
opportunity  and  equal  treatment  at  the  hand  of  the 
government — but  that  will  not  insure  equal  prosperity 
to  each  or  bestow  on  all  an  equal  amount  of  enjoy- 
ment. Ability  will  have  to  be  taken  into  considera- 
tion, and  likewise,  industry,  integrity  and  many  other 
factors. 

While  the  government  can  encourage  all  the  virtues 
it  cannot  compel  them;  there  is  a  zone  between  that 
which  can  be  legally  required  and  that  which  is  morally 
desirable.  When  the  government  has  done  all  in  its 
power — all  that  it  can  do  and  all  that  it  should  do— 


"  HIS  GOVERNMENT  AND  PEACE  "         227 

there  will  be  inequalities  in  success,  based  upon  in- 
equalities in  merit.  There  must,  therefore,  be  a  spiri- 
tual law  to  govern  when  the  statute  law,  based  upon 
economic  principles,  has  reached  its  limit. 

Christ  suggests  such  a  law — the  law  of  stewardship. 
We  hold  what  we  have — no  matter  how  justly  ac- 
quired— in  trust.  That  which  is  ours  by  economic 
right  and  by  the  government's  permission,  is  not  ours 
to  waste.  We  have  no  more  moral  right  to  squander 
it  foolishly  than  we  have  to  throw  away  our  bodily 
strength,  our  mental  energy  or  our  moral  worth. 

When  we  analyze  ourselves  we  find  that  there  is 
little  of  real  value  in  us  for  which  we  can  claim  sole 
credit.  We  inherit  much  from  ancestry  and  draw 
much  from  environment  long  before  we  are  able  to 
choose  our  surroundings.  The  ideals  which  come  to 
us  from  others  will  account  for  nearly  all  that  we  do 
not  derive  from  the  past  and  from  those  among  whom 
we  spend  our  youth.  If  one  has  accepted  Christ,  re- 
ceived forgiveness  of  sin  and  been  brought  into  living 
contact  with  the  Heavenly  Father,  he  becomes  indebted 
beyond  the  power  of  language  to  describe.  Our  in- 
debtedness if  discharged  at  all  must  be  paid  not,  as  a 
rule,  to  those  who  have  contributed  most  largely  to 
making  us  what  we  are,  but  by  general  service  to  those 
now  living  and  to  those  who  succeed  us.  Our  debtors 
are  as  impersonal  as  our  creditors. 

Nothing  could  contribute  more  to  the  security  of  the 
government  than  an  approximation  to  the  divine  stand- 
ard of  rewards,  and  if  all  then  recognized  and  obeyed 
the  law  of  stewardship  nearly  all  the  complaint  that 


228       "  HIS  GOVEENMENT  AND  PEACE  " 

would  still  exist  would  be  silenced  by  the  volunteer 
service  rendered  by  the  fortunate  to  the  unfortunate. 

"  The  mob  " — the  terror  of  orderly  government — 
has  been  described  by  Victor  Hugo  as  ''  the  human 
race  in  misery/'  When  the  brotherhood  of  Christ  is 
established  a  just  standard  of  rewards  will  abolish  law- 
made  misery  and  private  benevolence  will  relieve  such 
suffering  as  may  come  upon  the  members  of  society 
without  their  fault  and  in  spite  of  all  the  government 
can  do. 

But  plain  as  are  the  dangers  arising  from  love  of 
money,  and  reasonable  as  seem  the  means  of  meeting 
them,  the  mad  race  for  riches  goes  on  all  over  the 
world.  The  mind  is  powerless  to  call  a  halt ;  intellec- 
tual processes  fail — man  needs  a  voice  that  can  speak 
with  authority — a  voice  that  must  be  obeyed.  He 
needs  even  more — he  needs  to  be  born  again.  His 
heart  must  be  cleansed  and  his  thoughts  turned  to 
higher  things.  It  is  to  such  that  Christ  appeals  when 
He  asks:  "  What  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  shall  gain 
the  whole  world,  and  lose  his  own  soul  ?  "  Let  man 
cease  to  be  brutish  and  become  brotherly  and  he  will 
need  few  restraining  statutes. 

If  it  is  brutish  to  turn  so-called  legitimate  business 
into  grand  larceny,  what  shall  be  said  of  those  forms 
of  money-making  that  deprave  both  parties  to  the 
transaction?  The  liquor  traffic  furnished  the  best 
illustration  of  the  power  of  the  dollar  to  blind  the  eyes 
of  greedy  men  to  the  crime  and  misery  produced  by 
drink.  The  beneficiaries  of  this  wicked  business  for- 
merly included  high  church  officials — and  does  yet  in 


*^HIS  GOVERNMENT  AND  PEACE »»        229 

some  countries — who  swelled  their  incomes  with  the 
dividends  collected  from  vice ;  they  included  also  highly 
respected  brew^ers  and  distillers  as  well  as  saloon- 
keepers of  all  degrees.  The  fact  that  the  liquor  traffic 
manufactured  criminals,  ruined  men  and  women,  pro- 
duced poverty,  disrupted  families,  lowered  the  stand- 
ard of  education,  lessened  attendance  upon  worship 
and  even  afflicted  little  children  before  their  birth,  was 
not  sufficient  to  deter  people  from  engaging  in  it — even 
some  calling  themselves  Christians.  The  handling  of 
intoxicating  drinks  continued  openly  until  these  cen- 
ters of  pollution  were  closed  by  an  emphatic  expression 
of  the  nation's  conscience. 

Now,  the  fight  is  against  the  bootlegger  and  the 
smuggler.  The  man  who  peddles  liquor,  like  the  man 
who  sells  habit-forming  drugs,  is  an  outlaw  and  his 
trade  is  branded  as  an  enemy  of  society.  The  sanction 
given  to  prohibition  by  the  law  brings  to  its  support  all 
who  respect  orderly  government  and  reduces  the  ene- 
mies of  prohibition  to  those  whose  fondness  for  drink, 
or  for  the  profits  obtainable  from  Its  illicit  sale,  is  suf- 
ficient to  overcome  conscientious  scruples  and  a  sense 
of  civic  duty.  Those  who  oppose  prohibition  now  are 
shameless  enough  to  become  voluntary  companions  of 
the  lawless  members  of  society,  but  this  number  will 
constantly  decrease  as  the  virtue  of  the  country  asserts 
Itself  at  the  polls  In  the  election  of  officials  who  are  in 
sympathy  with  the  enforcement  of  the  law. 

The  unrest  which  pervades  the  Industrial  world  to- 
day also  threatens  the  stability  of  government.  The 
members  of  the  Capitalistic  group  and  the  members  of 


230        *^HIS  GOVEKNMENT  AND  PEACE '» 

the  Labour  group  are  becoming  more  and  more  class- 
conscious;  they  are  sohdifying  as  if  they  looked  for- 
ward with  a  vague  dread  to  what  they  regard  as  an 
inevitable  class  conflict.  The  same  plan.  Universal 
Brotherhood,  can  reconcile  all  class  differences.  Is 
there  any  other  plan?  Christ  died  for  all — the  em- 
ployer as  well  as  the  employee;  He  is  the  friend  of 
those  who  pay  wages  as  well  as  of  those  who  work  for 
wages ;  the  children  of  one  class  are  as  dear  to  Him  as 
the  children  of  the  other.  His  creed  brings  man  into 
harmony  with  God  and  then  teaches  him  to  love  his 
neighbour  as  himself.  To  put  human  rights  before 
property  rights — the  man  before  the  dollar,  is  simply 
to  put  the  teachings  of  the  Saviour  into  modern  lan- 
guage and  apply  them  to  present-day  conditions. 

The  whole  code  of  morals  of  the  Nazarene  is  a  pro- 
test against  the  attitude  of  antagonism  between  capital 
and  labour.  He  pleads  for  sympathy  and  fellowship. 
Every  worker  should  give  to  society  the  maximum  of 
his  productive  power — but  he  cannot  do  this  unless  he 
Is  a  willing  worker.  Every  employer  should  give  to 
society  the  maximum  of  his  organizing  and  directing 
ability,  but  he  cannot  do  it  unless  he  Is  a  satisfied  em- 
ployer. What  plan  but  the  plan  of  Christ  can  fill  the 
world  with  willing  workers  and  satisfied  employers f 
Capitalism,  supported  by  force,  cannot  save  civiliza- 
tion; neither  can  government  by  any  class  assure  the 
justice  that  makes  for  permanence  In  government. 
Only  brotherly  love  can  make  employers  willing  to  pay 
fair  compensation  for  work  done  and  employees  anx- 
ious to  give  fair  work  for  their  wages. 


<*HIS  GOVEENMENT  AND  PEACE"        231 

One  of  the  first  fruits  of  the  spirit  of  brotherhood 
will  be  investigation  before  strike  or  lockout,  just  as 
our  nation  has  provided  for  investigation  before  war. 
If  these  bloody  conflicts  cannot  be  entirely  abolished 
to-day  the  civilized  nations  should  at  least  know  why 
they  are  to  shoot  before  they  begin  shooting.  The 
world,  too,  should  know.  War  is  not  a  private  affair ; 
it  disturbs  the  commerce  of  the  world,  obstructs  the 
ocean's  highways  and  kills  innocent  bystanders.  Neu- 
tral nations  suffer  as  well  as  those  at  war.  If  peace- 
fully inclined  nations  cannot  avoid  loss  and  suffering 
after  war  is  begun,  they  certainly  have  a  right  to  de- 
mand information  as  to  the  nature  and  merits  of  the 
dispute  before  any  nation  begins  to  ''  shoot  up  "  civili- 
zation. 

The  strike  and  the  lockout  are  to  our  industrial  life 
what  war  Is  between  nations,  and  the  general  public 
stands  in  much  the  same  position  as  neutral  nations. 
The  number  of  those  actually  injured  by  a  suspension 
of  industry  is  often  many  times  as  great  as  the  total 
number  of  employers  and  employees  in  that  industry 
combined. 

If,  for  instance,  ninety-five  per  cent,  of  the  people 
are  asked  to  freeze  while  the  mine  owners  and  the 
mine  workers  (numbering  possibly  five  per  cent.)  fight 
out  their  differences,  have  they  not  a  right  to  demand 
information  as  to  the  merits  of  the  dispute  before  the 
shivering  begins?  If  the  home  builders  are  asked  to 
suspend  construction  while  the  steel  manufacturers  and 
steel  workers  (but  a  small  fraction  of  the  population) 
go  to  war  over  the  terms  of  employment,  have  they  not 


232       "  HIS  GOVEENMENT  AND  PEACE »» 

a  right  to  inquire  why  before  they  begin  to  move  into 
tents?  And  so  with  disputes  between  railroads  and 
their  employees. 

Compulsory  arbitration  of  all  disputes  between  la- 
bour and  capital  is  as  improbable  as  compulsory  arbi- 
tration of  all  disputes  between  nations,  but  the  com- 
pulsory investigation  of  all  disputes  (before  lockout  or 
strike)  will  come  as  soon  as  the  Golden  Rule — an  ex- 
pression of  brotherhood — is  adopted  in  industry. 
When  each  man  loves  his  neighbour  as  himself  all 
rights  will  be  safeguarded — the  rights  of  employees, 
the  rights  of  employers  and  the  rights  of  the  public — 
that  important  third  party  that  furnishes  the  profits  for 
the  employer  and  the  wages  for  the  employee. 

Ambition  has  been  a  disturbing  factor  in  govern- 
ment. The  ambitions  of  monarchs  have  overthrown 
governments  and  enslaved  races.  In  republics,  the 
ambitions  of  aspirants  for  office  have  caused  revolu- 
tions and  corrupted  politics.  No  form  of  government 
is  immune  to  the  evils  that  flow  from  ambition,  or 
proof  against  those  who  plot  for  their  own  political 
advancement.  For  this  evil,  too,  Christ  has  a  remedy. 
He  changes  the  point  of  view.  It  seems  a  simple 
thing,  but  behold  the  transformation !  "  Let  him  who 
would  be  chiefest  among  you  be  servant  of  all."  He 
makes  service  the  measure  of  greatness.  This  is  one 
of  the  most  important  of  the  many  great  doctrines 
taught  by  the  Saviour.  It  puts  the  accent  on  giving 
instead  of  getting;  it  measures  a  life  by  the  outflow 
rather  than  by  the  income.  Men  had  been  in  the 
habit  of  estimating  their  greatness  by  the  amount  of 


**ms  GOVERNMENT  AND  PEACE  233 

service  they  could  coerce  or  buy;  Christ  taught  them 
to  measure  their  greatness  by  service  rendered  to 
others.  A  wonderful  transformation  will  take  place 
in  this  old  world  when  all  are  animated  by  a  desire  to 
contribute  to  the  public  good  rather  than  by  an  ambi- 
tion to  absorb  as  much  as  possible  from  society. 

Brotherhood  is  easily  established  among  those  who 
"  in  honour  prefer  one  another '' — who  are  willing  to 
hold  office  when  they  are  needed,  but  as  willing  to 
serve  under  others  as  to  command.  It  is  impossible  to 
overestimate  the  contribution  that  Christ  has  made  to 
enduring  government  in  suppressing  unworthy  amoi- 
tion  and  in  implanting  high  and  ennobling  ideals. 

War  may  be  mentioned  as  the  fourth  foe  of  endur- 
ing government.  It  is  the  resultant  of  many  forces. 
Love  of  money  is  probably  more  responsible  for  mod- 
ern wars  than  any  other  one  cause ;  commercial  rival- 
ries lead  nations  into  injustice  and  unfair  dealing. 

Wars  are  sometimes  waged  to  extend  trade — the 
blood  of  many  being  shed  to  enrich  a  few.  The  sup- 
plying of  battleships  and  munitions  is  so  profitable  a 
business  that  wars  are  encouraged  by  some  for  the 
money  they  bring  to  certain  classes.  Prejudices  are 
aroused,  jealousies  are  stirred  up  and  hatreds  are 
fanned  into  flame.  Class  conflicts  cause  wars  and 
selfish  ambitions  have  often  embroiled  nations ;  in  fact, 
war  is  like  a  boil,  it  Indicates  that  there  is  poison  in  the 
blood.  Christ  is  the  great  physician  whose  teachings 
purify  the  blood  of  the  body  politic  and  restore  health. 

In  dealing  with  the  subject  of  war  we  cannot  Ignore 
another  great   foundation  principle   of   Christianity, 


234        *^HI8  GOVEENMENT  AND  PEACE  ^' 

namely,  forgiveness.  The  war  through  which  the 
world  has  recently  passed  is  not  only  without  a  paral- 
lel in  the  blood  and  treasure  it  has  cost,  but  it  was 
a  typical  war  in  that  nearly  every  important  war-pro- 
ducing cause  contributed  to  the  fierceness  of  the  con- 
flict. Personal  ambition,  trade  rivalries,  the  greed  of 
munition-makers,  race  hatreds  and  revenge — all  played 
a  part  in  the  awful  tragedy.  Thirty  millions  of  human 
lives  were  sacrificed;  three  hundred  billion  dollars' 
worth  of  property  was  destroyed;  more  than  two  hun- 
dred billion  dollars  of  indebtedness  was  added  to  the 
burden  that  the  world  was  already  carrying.  The 
paper  currency  of  the  nations  was  swollen  from  seven 
billions  to  fifty-six  and  the  gold  reserve  dwindled  from 
seventy  per  cent,  to  twelve. 

And,  oh,  the  pity !  nearly  every  great  nation  engaged 
in  the  war  was  a  Christian  nation  and  every  important 
branch  of  the  Church  was  involved!  And  this  oc- 
curred nineteen  hundred  years  after  the  birth  of  the 
Saviour,  at  whose  coming  the  angels  sang,  "  on  earth, 
peace,  good-will  to  men." 

The  world  is  weary  of  war.  If  blood  is  necessary 
for  the  remission  of  sins,  enough  has  been  spilled  to 
atone  for  the  wrong  done  by  all  who  live  upon  the 
earth ;  if  sorrow  is  necessary  to  repentance  and  reform, 
enough  tears  have  been  shed  to  wash  away  all  the 
crimes  of  the  past.  This  last  plague  would  seem  to 
have  been  sufficient  to  release  the  world  from  bondage 
to  force — if  so,  mankind  is  ready  to  turn  over  a  new 
leaf  and  set  about  the  task  of  finding  a  way  to  prevent 
war. 


**HIS  GOVEENMENT  AND  PEACE  ^»        235 

As  Christ  can  remove  the  pecuniary  cause  of  war  by 
purging  the  heart  of  that  love  of  money  which  leads 
men  into  evil  doings,  the  class-conflict  cause  by  stimu- 
lating brotherly  love,  and  the  ambition  cause,  by  set- 
ting up  a  new  measure  of  greatness ;  so  He  can  subdue 
hatred  and  silence  the  cry  for  revenge. 

"  Vengeance  is  mine,  I  will  repay,  saith  the  Lord," 
should  be  a  restraint,  but  Christ  goes  farther  and  com- 
mands us  to  love  our  enemies.  That  was  the  complete 
cure  for  which  the  world  was  not  ready  when  God 
made  Moses  His  spokesman.  "  Thou  shalt  not,"  came 
first;  "  Thou  shalt,"  came  later.  Christ's  creed,  com- 
pels positive  helpfulness  and  love  is  the  basis  of  that 
creed. 

Love  makes  money-grabbing  seem  contemptible; 
love  makes  class  prejudice  impossible;  love  makes 
selfish  ambition  a  thing  to  be  despised;  love  converts 
enemies  Into  friends. 

It  may  encourage  us  to  expect  Christ's  teachings  to 
bring  world  peace  if  we  consider  for  a  moment  what 
has  already  been  accomplished  in  the  establishing  of 
peace  between  individuals.  Take,  for  instance,  the  doc- 
trine of  forgiveness  as  applied  to  indebtedness.  In 
Christ's  time  debtors  were  not  only  imprisoned  but 
members  of  the  family  could  be  sold  into  bondage  to 
satisfy  a  pecuniary  obligation.  In  Matthew  (chap.  18) 
we  have  a  picture  of  the  cruelty  which  the  creditor  was 
permitted  to  practice: 

Therefore  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven  likened  unto  a 
certain  king,  which  would  take  account  of  his  servants. 
And  when  he  had  begun  to  reckon,  one  was  brought  unto 


236       *^HIS  GOVERNMENT  AND  PEACE" 

him,  which  owed  him  ten  thousand  talents  [ten  million 
dollars].  But  forasmuch  as  he  had  not  to  pay,  his  lord 
commanded  him  to  be  sold,  and  his  wife,  and  children, 
and  all  that  he  had,  and  payment  to  be  made.  The  serv- 
ant therefore  fell  down,  and  worshipped  him,  saying, 
Lord,  have  patience  with  me,  and  I  will  pay  thee  all. 
Then  the  lord  of  that  servant  was  moved  with  compas- 
sion, and  loosed  him,  and  forgave  him  the  debt.  But  the 
same  servant  went  out,  and  found  one  of  his  fellow- 
servants  which  owed  him  an  hundred  pence  [seventeen 
dollars]  ;  and  he  laid  hands  on  him,  and  took  him  by  the 
throat,  saying,  Pay  me  that  thou  owest.  And  his  fel- 
lowservant  fell  down  at  his  feet,  and  besought  him,  say- 
ing, Have  patience  with  me,  and  I  will  pay  thee  all. 
And  he  would  not:  but  went  and  cast  him  into  prison, 
till  he  should  pay  the  debt.  So  when  his  fellowservants 
saw  what  was  done,  they  were  very  sorry,  and  came  and 
told  unto  their  lord  all  that  was  done.  Then  his  lord, 
after  that  he  had  called  him,  said  unto  him,  O  thou  wicked 
servant,  I  forgave  thee  all  that  debt,  because  thou  desir- 
edst  me :  Shouldest  not  thou  also  have  had  compassion  on 
thy  fellowservant,  even  as  I  had  pity  on  thee?  And  his 
lord  was  wroth,  and  delivered  him  to  the  tormentors,  till 
he  should  pay  all  that  was  due  unto  him. 

If  Christ  were  to  reappear  to-day  he  would  find  Im- 
prisonment for  debt  abolished  throughout  nearly  all, 
if  not  the  entire,  civilized  world.  The  law  stays  the 
hand  of  the  creditor,  or  rather  withholds  from  him  the 
Instruments  of  torture  which  he  formerly  employed. 
Here  we  have  the  doctrine  of  forgiveness  applied  in  a 
very  practical  form.  It  Is  based  on  mercy,  and  yet  In 
a  larger  sense  it  rests  on  justice  and  promotes  the  wel- 
fare of  society. 

But  compassion  has  gone  further;  we  have  the  ex- 
emption law  which  secures  to  the  debtor  the  food  neces- 
sary for  his  family  and  the  tools  by  which  he  makes  his 


"HIS  GOVERNMENT  AND  PEACE »'        237 

living.  Christ's  doctrine  has  been  applied  further  still ; 
we  have  the  bankruptcy  law  which  gives  a  new  lease  of 
life  to  an  insolvent  debtor  if  his  failure  is  without 
criminal  fault  on  his  part.  By  turning  over  to  his 
creditors  all  the  property  he  has  above  exemptions  he 
can  go  forth  from  court  free  from  all  legal  obligations 
and  begin  business  unembarrassed.  Some  who  take 
advantage  of  these  provisions  of  the  law  may  be  indif- 
ferent to  the  Teacher  whose  loving  spirit  has  thus 
conquered  the  hard  heart  of  the  world,  but  the  triumph 
marks  a  step  in  human  advance  and  suggests  possible 
changes  in  other  directions  as  the  principle  is  increas- 
ingly applied  to  daily  life. 

International  law  still  permits  greater  cruelty  in  war 
than  accompanied  imprisonment  for  debt.  National 
obligations  are  enforced  by  killing  the  innocent  as  well 
as  the  guilty.  Ports  are  blockaded,  cities  are  besieged 
and  even  bombed,  and  non-combatants  are  starved  and 
drowned. 

As  imprisonment  for  debt  has  disappeared  and  as 
duelling  is  giving  way  to  the  suit  at  law,  so  war  will 
be  succeeded  by  courts  of  arbitration  and  tribunals  for 
investigation.  All  real  progress  toward  peace  is  in 
line  with  the  teachings  of  the  Nazarene  and  this  prog- 
ress hastens  the  coming  of  governments  that  shall 
endure. 

With  the  conclusion  of  the  World  War  our  nation 
confronts  such  an  opportunity  as  never  came  to  any 
other  nation — such  an  opportunity  as  never  came  to 
our  nation  before.  We  were  the  only  great  nation 
that  sought  no  selfish  advantage  and  had  no  old  scores 


238       "  HIS  GOVEENMENT  AND  PEACE  " 

to  settle,  no  spirit  of  revenge  to  gratify.  Our  con- 
tributions were  made  for  the  world's  benefit — to  end 
war  and  make  self-government  respected  everywhere. 
We  entered  the  conflict  at  the  time  when  we  could 
render  the  maximum  of  service  with  a  minimum  of 
sacrifice.  At  the  peace  conference  we  asked  nothing 
for  ourselves — no  territorial  additions,  no  indemnities, 
no  reimbursements — just  world  peace,  universal  and 
perpetual.     That  was  to  be  our  recompense. 

It  is  not  entirely  the  fault  of  other  nations  that  they 
do  not  stand  exactly  in  the  same  position  that  we  do. 
In  many  respects  their  situations  are  different  from 
ours.  They  have  received  from  the  past  an  inheritance 
of  race  and  national  hostility;  they  have  their  com- 
mercial ambitions;  they  have  their  military  and  naval 
groups  with  antiquated  standards  of  honour,  not  to 
speak  of  those  who,  feeding  on  war  contracts,  feel 
that  they  have  a  vested  interest  in  carnage.  Besides 
these  hindrances  to  peace  they  lack  several  advantages 
which  we  enjoy  over  any  other  nation  of  importance, 
viz.,  more  complete  information  in  regard  to  other  peo- 
ple, a  more  general  sympathy  with  other  nations  and 
a  greater  moral  obligation  to  them.  Our  nation  be- 
ing made  up  of  the  best  blood  of  the  nations  of  Eu- 
rope, we  learn  to  know  the  people  at  home  through 
the  representatives  who  come  here.  Because  of  our 
intimate  connection  with  the  foreign  elements  of  our 
country  our  sympathy  goes  out  to  all  lands;  and  be- 
cause we  have  received  from  other  nations  as  no  other 
nation  ever  did,  we  are  in  duty  bound  to  give  as  no 
other  nation  has  given. 


"HIS  GOVEENMENT  AND  PEACE ^»        239 

We  have  given  the  world  a  peace  plan  that  provides 
for  the  investigation  of  all  disputes  before  a  resort 
to  arms — a  plan  that  gives  time  for  passions  to  sub- 
side and  for  reason  to  resume  her  sway.  We  have 
substituted  the  maxim:  "  Nothing  is  final  between 
friends,"  for  the  old-fashioned  diplomacy  based  on 
threats  and  ultimatums.  We  have  turned  from  the 
blood-stained  precedents  of  the  past  and  invoked  a 
spirit  of  brotherhood  for  the  purpose  of  preventing 
wars.  These  treaties  contain  a  provision  which, 
though  seemingly  very  simple,  is  profoundly  signifi- 
cant. In  former  times  treaties  ran  for  a  certain  num- 
ber of  years  and  then  lapsed  unless  renewed.  The 
thirty  treaties  negotiated  by  our  nation  in  1913  and 
1914  with  three-quarters  of  the  world,  providing  for 
investigation  of  all  disputes  before  hostilities  can  be- 
gin, run  for  five  years  and  then,  instead  of  lapsing, 
continue  until  one  year  after  one  of  the  parties  to  the 
treaty  has  formally  demanded  its  termination.  Note 
the  difference:  the  old  treaties  gave  the  presumption 
to  war — the  new  treaties  give  the  presumption  to 
peace.  As  our  constitution  requires  a  two-thirds  vote 
for  ratification  of  a  treaty,  a  minority  of  the  Senate 
(as  few  as  one-third  plus  one)  could  prevent  the  re- 
newal of  a  treaty;  under  the  new  plan  the  treaty  con- 
tinues indefinitely  until  a  majority  denounce  it. 

But  while  we  have  made  a  splendid  beginning  as  the 
leader  of  the  peace  movement  in  the  world  much  re- 
mains to  be  done.  Our  nation  should  lead  in  the  cru- 
sade for  disarmament ;  no  other  nation  is  so  well  quali- 
fied for  leadership  in  this  movement  so  necessary  for 


240   **  HIS  GOVEENMENT  AND  PEACE  " 

civilization.  The  desire  for  peace,  intensified  by  the 
agonies  of  an  unprecedented  war,  ought  to  be  suffi- 
cient to  bring  about  disarmament;  it  should  be  un- 
necessary to  invoke  financial  reasons.  But  national 
debts  have  increased  so  enormously  as  to  have  become 
unbearable  and  the  world  must  disarm  or  face  uni- 
versal bankruptcy.  The  reaction  against  militarism  is 
more  advanced,  but  the  reaction  against  navalism  is 
just  as  sure  to  come — one  cannot  survive  without  the 
support  of  the  other.  Rivalry  in  the  building  of  bat- 
tleships will  not  long  be  tolerated  after  rivalry  in  land 
forces  has  been  abandoned. 

The  United  States  should  be  the  champion  of  the 
Christian  method  of  preserving  peace — and  the  world 
is  ready  for  it.  The  devil  never  won  a  greater  victory 
than  when  he  persuaded  statesmen  to  make  the  absurd 
experiment  of  trying  to  prevent  war  by  getting  ready 
for  it.  "  Arm  yourselves,"  he  whispered,  "  and  you 
will  never  have  to  use  your  weapons."  How  his 
Satanic  majesty  must  have  gloated  over  the  gullibility 
of  his  dupes. 

John  Bright,  Quaker  statesman  of  Great  Britain, 
pointed  out  the  fallacy  of  this  policy.  He  called 
it,  "Worshipping  the  scimitar"  and  predicted  that 
it  would  invite  war  instead  of  preventing  it.  But 
the  din  of  the  munition  factories  drowned  the  voice 
of  protest  and  the  civilized  world — yes,  the  Chris- 
tian world — went  into  a  prepared  war,  each  nation  pro- 
testing that  it  was  drawn  into  the  conflict  against  its 
will. 

Permanent    peace    cannot    rest    upon    terrorism; 


"  HIS  GOVEENMENT  AND  PEACE  "        241 

friendship  alone  can  inspire  peace,  and  friendship  has 
no  swagger  in  its  gait;  it  does  not  flourish  a  sword. 
Our  nation  has  invited  the  world  to  a  conference  to 
consider  the  limitation  of  armaments;  if  disarmament 
by  agreement  fails  we  should  enter  upon  a  systematic 
policy  of  reduction  ourselves  and  by  so  doing  arouse 
the  Christians,  the  friends  of  humanity  and  the  toil- 
ers of  the  world  to  the  criminal  folly  of  the  brute 
method  of  dealing  with  this  question. 

We  should  also  join  the  world  in  creating  a  tribunal 
before  which  every  complaint  of  international  injus- 
tice can  be  heard.  If  reason  is  to  be  substituted  for 
force  the  forum  instituted  for  the  consideration  of 
these  questions  must  have  authority  to  hear  all  issues 
between  nations,  in  order  that  public  opinion,  based 
upon  information,  may  compel  such  action  as  may  be 
necessary  to  remove  discord. 

It  does  not  lessen  the  value  of  such  a  tribunal  to 
withhold  from  it  the  power  to  enforce  its  findings  by 
the  weapons  of  warfare.  In  the  case  of  our  own  na- 
tion, we  have  no  constitutional  right  to  transfer  to 
another  nation  authority  to  declare  war  for  us,  or  to 
impair  our  freedom  of  action  when  the  time  for  action 
arrives. 

Then,  too,  the  judgment  that  rests  upon  its  merits 
alone,  and  is  not  enforceable  by  war,  is  more  apt  to 
be  fair  than  one  that  can  be  executed  by  those  who 
render  it.  A  persuasive  plea  appeals  to  the  reason;  a 
command  Is  usually  uttered  in  an  entirely  different 
spirit. 

There  is  another  difference  between  a  recommenda- 


242       "HIS  GOVEENMENT  AND  PEACE '» 

tion  and  a  decree;  if  the  European  nations  could  call 
our  army  and  navy  into  their  service  at  any  time  they 
might  yield  to  the  temptation  to  use  our  resources  to 
advance  their  ambitions.  As  the  man  who  carries  a 
revolver  is  more  likely  than  an  unarmed  man  to  be 
drawn  into  a  fight,  so  the  European  nations  would  be 
more  apt  to  engage  in  selfish  quarrels  if  they  carried 
the  fighting  power  of  the  United  States  in  their  hip 
pocket.  For  their  own  good,  as  well  as  for  our  pro- 
tection and  for  the  saving  of  civilization,  it  is  well  to 
require  a  clear  and  complete  statement  of  the  reasons 
for  the  war  and  of  the  ends  that  the  belligerents  have 
in  view,  before  we  mingle  our  blood  with  theirs  upon 
the  battle-field. 

Our  nation  is  in  an  ideal  position;  it  has  financial 
power  and  moral  prestige;  it  has  disinterestedness  of 
purpose  and  far-reaching  sympathy.  When  to  these 
qualifications  for  leadership  independence  of  action  is 
added  we  can  render  the  maximum  of  service  to  the 
world. 

It  matters  not  what  name  is  given  to  the  cooperative 
body;  it  may  be  a  League  of  Nations  or  an  Associa- 
tion of  Nations  or  anything  else.  The  name  is  a  mere 
form ;  the  tribunal  should  be  the  greatest  that  has  ever 
assembled.  Our  delegates  should  be  chosen  by  the 
people  directly,  as  our  senators,  our  congressmen,  our 
governors,  and  our  legislators  are,  and  as  our  President 
virtually  is.  Representatives  chosen  to  speak  for  the 
American  people  on  such  momentous  themes  as  will 
be  discussed  in  that  body  should  have  their  commis- 
sions signed  by  the  sovereign  voters  themselves.    We 


"  HIS  GOVEENMENT  AND  PEACE  '*        243 

cannot  afford  to  intrust  the  selection  of  these  delegates 
to  the  President  or  to  Congress.  The  members  of  our 
delegation  should  not  be  discredited  by  any  flavour  of 
presidential  favouritism  or  by  any  taint  of  Congres- 
sional log-rolling. 

Delegates,  selected  by  popular  vote  in  districts, 
would  reflect  the  sentiment  of  the  entire  country,  and 
their  power  would  be  enhanced  rather  than  decreased 
if  they  were  compelled  to  seek  endorsement  of  their 
views  on  vital  questions  at  a  referendum  vote.  Their 
authority  to  cast  the  nation's  vote  for  war  ought  to 
be  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  people,  expressed  at 
the  ballot  box.  Those  who  are  to  furnish  the  blood 
and  take  upon  themselves  the  burden  of  war-debts 
ought  to  be  consulted  before  the  solemn  duties  and  the 
sacrifices  of  war  are  required  of  them. 

Our  nation  can,  by  its  example,  teach  the  world  the 
true  meaning  of  that  democracy  which  was  to  be  made 
safe  throughout  the  world.  The  essence  of  democracy 
is  found  in  the  right  of  the  people  to  have  what  they 
want,  and  experience  shows  that  the  best  way  to  find 
out  what  the  people  want  is  to  ask  them.  There  is 
more  virtue  in  the  people  themselves  than  can  be  found 
anywhere  else;  the  faults  of  popular  government  re- 
sult chiefly  from  the  embezzlement  of  power  by  repre- 
sentatives of  the  people — the  people  themselves  are  not 
often  at  fault.  But,  suppose  they  make  mistakes  oc- 
casionally: have  they  not  a  right  to  make  their  own 
mistakes  F  Who  has  a  right  to  make  mistakes  for 
them? 
.  The  Saviour  not  only  furnished  a  solution  for  all  of 


244       ''BIS  GOYERITMEKT  AND  PEACE »' 

life's  problems,  individual  and  governmental,  national 
and  international,  but  He  also  called  His  followers  to 
the  performance  of  the  duties  of  citizenship:  "  Render 
unto  Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's,  and  to  God  the 
things  that  are  God's,"  was  the  answer  that  Christ 
made  to  those  who  were  quibbling  about  the  claims  of 
the  government  under  which  they  lived. 

The  citizen  is  a  unit  of  the  community  in  which  he 
lives  and  a  part  of  his  government.  Our  government 
derives  its  power  from  the  consent  of  the  governed; 
what  kind  of  a  government  would  we  have  if  all  Chris- 
tians were  indifferent  to  its  claims?  No  rule  can  be 
laid  down  for  one  citizen  that  does  not  apply  to  all; 
each  citizen,  therefore,  should  bear  his  share  of  the 
burden  if  he  is  to  claim  his  share  of  the  government 
protection.  The  teachings  of  Christ  require  that  we 
should  respect  the  rights  of  others  as  well  as  insist 
upon  the  recognition  of  our  own  rights.  In  fact,  the 
recognition  of  the  rights  of  others  is  a  higher  form 
of  patriotism  than  mere  insistence  upon  that  which  is 
due  us  and  the  spirit  of  brotherhood  is  calculated  to 
create  just  such  a  community  of  interest.  Each  will 
find  his  security  in  the  safety  of  all — the  welfare  of 
each  being  the  concern  of  the  whole  group. 

In  a  government  like  ours  the  Christian  is  compelled 
by  conscience  to  avoid  sins  of  omission  as  well  as  sins 
of  commission;  he  must  not  only  avoid  the  doing  of 
evil,  but  he  must  not  permit  wrong-doing  by  law  if  he 
can  prevent  it.  In  other  words,  the  conscientious  citi- 
zen must  understand  the  principles  of  his  government, 
the  methods  employed  by  his  government  and  the  poli- 


*'  HIS  GOVEENMENT  AND  PEACE  »>        246 

cies  that  come  before  the  government  for  adoption  or 
rejection.  He  is  a  partner  in  a  very  important  busi- 
ness— a  stockholder  in  the  greatest  of  all  corporations. 
If  the  good  people  of  the  land  do  not  do  their  duty 
as  citizens  they  may  be  sure  that  bad  people  will  use 
the  power  and  instrumentalities  of  government  for 
their  own  advantage  and  for  the  injury  of  the  many. 

An  indifferent  Christian?  It  is  impossible.  A 
Christian  cannot  be  indifferent  without  betraying  a 
sacred  trust.  And  yet  every  bad  law,  and  every  bad 
condition  that  can  be  remedied  by  a  good  law,  pro- 
claims an  indifferent  citizenship  or  a  citizenship  lack- 
ing in  virtue,  for  popular  government  is  merely  a 
reflection  of  the  character  of  its  active  citizenship. 

The  charitable  view  to  take  of  a  nation's  failure  to 
have  the  best  government,  the  best  laws  and  the  best 
administration  possible,  Is  not  that  the  citizenship  is 
lacking  In  virtue  and  good  intent,  but  that  it  is  lack- 
ing in  Information.  It  Is  the  business  of  the  good 
citizen,  therefore,  to  encourage  the  spread  of  accurate 
information — the  dissemination  of  light — in  order  that 
those  who  "  love  darkness  rather  than  light  because 
their  deeds  are  evil "  may  not  be  able  to  work  under 
cover.  No  evil  can  stand  long  against  a  united  Chris- 
tian citizenship ;  witness  how  prohibition  came  as  soon 
as  the  churches  united  against  the  saloon. 

Having  faith  in  the  power  of  truth  to  win  its  way 
when  understood,  Christians  believe  in  publicity  and 
are  not  afraid  to  call  every  evil  before  the  bar  of  pub- 
lic judgment.  Believing  in  the  superhuman  wisdom 
of  Christ,  as  well  as  in  the  saving  power  of  His  blood. 


246        <*HIS  GOVERNMENT  AND  PEACE  ^> 

they  are  bold  to  apply  His  code  of  morals  to  every 
problem.  His  is  a  name  that  will  increasingly  arouse 
the  hosts  of  righteousness  to  irresistible  attacks  on  the 
brutishness  that  endangers  government,  society  and 
civilization. 

I  am  so  confident  that  the  Christian  citizenship  of 
this  country  will  prove  faithful  to  every  trust  and  rise 
to  the  requirements  of  every  emergency  that  I  venture 
to  repeat  a  forecast  of  our  nation's  future,  made  more 
than  twenty  years  ago: 

I  can  conceive  of  a  national  destiny  which  meets 
the  responsibilities  of  to-day  and  measures  up  to  the 
possibilities  of  to-morrow.  Behold  a  republic,  resting 
securely  upon  the  mountain  of  eternal  truth — a  repub- 
lic applying  in  practice  and  proclaiming  to  the  world 
the  self-evident  propositions  that  all  men  are  created 
equal;  that  they  are  endowed  with  inalienable  rights; 
that  governments  are  instituted  among  men  to  secure 
these  rights;  and  that  governments  derive  their  just 
powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed.  Behold  a 
republic,  in  which  civil  and  religious  liberty  stimulate 
all  to  earnest  endeavour  and  in  which  the  law  restrains 
every  hand  uplifted  for  a  neighbour's  injury — a  re- 
public in  which  every  citizen  is  a  sovereign,  but  in 
which  no  one  cares  to  wear  a  crown.  Behold  a  re- 
public, standing  erect,  while  empires  all  around  are 
bowed  beneath  the  weight  of  their  own  armaments — a 
republic  whose  flag  is  loved  while  other  flags  are  only 
feared.  Behold  a  republic,  increasing  in  population, 
in  wealth,  in  strength  and  in  influence;  solving  the 
problems  of  civilization,  and  hastening  the  coming  of 


"HIS  GOVEENMENT  AND  PEACE"        247 

an  universal  brotherhood — a  republic  which  shakes 
thrones  and  dissolves  aristocracies  by  its  silent  ex- 
ample and  gives  light  and  inspiration  to  those  who 
sit  in  darkness.  Behold  a  republic,  gradually  but 
surely  becoming  the  supreme  moral  factor  to  the 
world's  progress  and  the  accepted  arbiter  of  the 
world's  disputes — a  republic  whose  history  like  the 
path  of  the  just — "  is  as  the  shining  light  that  shineth 
more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day." 


IX 

THE  SPOKEN  WORD 

SOME  have  prophesied  that  with  the  spread  of 
the  newspaper  pubHc  speaking  would  dedine — 
but  the  prediction  has  not  been  fulfilled  and  its 
failure  is  easily  explained.  In  the  first  place,  the  writ- 
ten page  can  never  be  a  substitute  for  the  message 
delivered  orally.  The  newspaper  vastly  multiplies  the 
audience  but  they  hear  only  the  echo,  not  the  speech 
itself.  One  cannot  write  as  he  speaks  because  he  lacks 
the  inspiration  furnished  by  an  audience.  Gladstone 
has  very  happily  described  the  influence  exerted  by 
the  audience  upon  the  speaker,  an  influence  which  re- 
turns to  the  audience  stamped  with  his  own  person- 
ality. He  says  that  the  speaker  draws  inspiration 
from  the  audience  in  the  form  of  mist  and  pours  it 
back  in  a  flood.  It  need  hardly  be  added  that  this  re- 
fers to  speaking  without  manuscript,  but  reading, 
while  always  regrettable,  is  sometimes  necessary — 
especially  when  accuracy  is  more  important  than  the 
immediate  effect. 

In  order  to  secure  both  accuracy  and  animation  it 
is  well  to  prepare  the  speech  in  advance  and  then  re- 
vise it  after  delivery. 

With  increased  intelligence  a  larger  percentage  of 
the  population  are  able  to  think  upon  their  feet,  to 

248 


THE  SPOKEN  WOED  249 

take  part  in  public  discussions  and  to  give  their  com- 
munity and  country  the  benefit  of  their  conscience  and 
judgment.  The  fraternities  and  labour  and  commer- 
cial organizations  have  largely  aided  in  the  develop- 
ment of  speaking  by  the  exchange  of  views  at  their 
regular  meetings.  The  extension  of  popular  govern- 
ment naturally  increases  public  speaking  as  it  brings 
the  masses  into  closer  relation  to  the  government  and 
makes  them  more  and  more  a  controlling  force  in 
politics. 

The  newspapers,  instead  of  making  the  stump  un- 
necessary, often  increase  the  necessity  for  face  to  face 
communication  in  order  that  both  sides  may  be  repre- 
sented and,  sometimes,  in  order  that  misrepresenta- 
tions may  be  exposed. 

No  substitute  can  be  found  for  the  pulpit.  Earnest- 
ness which  finds  expression  through  the  voice  cannot 
be  communicated  through  the  printed  page.  If  we  are 
thrilled  by  what  we  read  it  gives  us  only  a  glimpse  of 
the  power  of  speech  to  stir  the  soul.  If  the  spoken 
word  is  to  continue  to  play  an  important  part  in  the 
communication  of  Information  and  in  the  compelling 
of  thought  it  is  worth  while  to  consider  some  of  the 
rules  that  contribute  to  the  effectiveness  of  the  pulpit 
and  the  platform. 

Sometimes  I  receive  a  letter  from  a  young  man  who 
informs  me  that  he  is  a  born  orator  and  asks  what 
such  an  one  should  do  to  prepare  him  for  his  life-work. 
I  answer  that  w^hlle  an  orator  must  be  born  like  others 
his  success  will  not  depend  on  inheritance,  neither  will 
a  favourable  environment  in  youth  assure  it.    An  an- 


260  THE  SPOKEN  WOED 

cestor's  fame  may  inspire  him  to  effort  and  the  associa- 
tions of  the  fireside  may  stimulate,  but  ability  to  speak 
effectively  is  an  acquirement  rather  than  a  gift. 

Eloquence  may  be  defined  as  the  speech  of  one  who 
knows  what  he  is  talking  about  and  means  what  he 
says — it  is  thought  on  fire.  One  cannot  communicate 
information  unless  he  possesses  it.  There  is  quite  a 
difference  in  people  in  this  respect;  we  say  of  one  that 
he  knows  more  than  he  can  tell  and,  of  another,  that 
he  can  tell  all  he  knows,  but  it  is  a  reflection  upon  a 
man  to  say  that  he  can  tell  more  than  he  knows. 

The  first  thing,  therefore,  is  to  know  the  subject. 
One  should  know  his  subject  so  well  that  a  question 
will  aid  rather  than  embarrass  him.  A  question  from 
the  audience  annoys  one  only  when  the  speaker  is 
unable  to  answer  it  or  does  not  want  to  answer  it. 
Many  a  speaker  has  been  brought  into  ridicule  by  a 
question  that  revealed  his  lack  of  information  on  the 
subject;  and  a  speaker  has  sometimes  been  routed  by 
a  question  that  revealed  something  he  intended  to  con- 
ceal. Before  discussing  a  subject  one  should  go  all 
around  it  and  view  it  from  every  standpoint,  asking 
and  answering  all  the  questions  likely  to  be  put  by 
his  opponents.  Nothing  strengthens  a  speaker  more 
than  to  be  able  to  answer  every  question  put  to  him. 
His  argument  is  made  much  more  forcible  because  the 
question  focuses  attention  on  the  particular  point;  a 
ready  answer  makes  a  deeper  impression  than  the 
speaker  could  make  by  the  use  of  the  same  language 
without  the  benefit  of  the  question  to  excite  interest 
in  the  proposition. 


THE  SPOKEN  WOED  251 

But  knowledge  is  of  little  use  to  the  speaker  without 
earnestness.  Persuasive  speech  is  from  heart  to  heart, 
not  from  mind  to  mind.  It  is  difficult  for  a  speaker 
to  deceive  his  audience  as  to  his  own  feelings ;  it  takes 
a  trained  actor  to  make  an  imaginary  thing  seem  real. 
Nearly  two  thousand  years  ago  one  of  the  Latin  poets 
expressed  this  thought  when  he  said,  ''If  you  would 
draw  tears  from  others'  eyes,  yourself  the  signs  of 
grief  must  show/' 

If  one  is  master  of  an  important  subject  and  feels 
that  he  has  a  message  that  must  be  delivered  he  will 
not  lack  a  hearing.  As  there  are  always  important 
subjects  before  the  country  for  settlement  there  will 
always  be  oratory.  In  order  to  speak  eloquently  on 
one  subject  a  man  need  not  be  well  informed  on  a 
large  number  of  subjects,  although  information  on  all 
subjects  is  of  value.  One  who  can  in  a  general  way 
discuss  a  large  number  of  subjects  may  be  entirely  out- 
classed by  one  who  knows  but  one  subject  but  knows  it 
well  and  feels  it. 

The  pulpit  has  developed  many  great  orators  be- 
cause it  furnishes  the  largest  subject  with  which  one 
can  deal.  The  preacher  who  knows  the  Bible  and 
feels  that  every  human  being  needs  the  message  that 
the  Bible  contains  cannot  fail  to  reach  the  hearts  of 
his  hearers.  Dr.  E.  Benjamin  Andrews,  once  the 
President  of  Brown  University  and  later  Chancellor 
of  Nebraska  University,  told  me  of  a  sermon  that  he 
heard  Jasper,  the  coloured  preacher  of  Richmond,  de- 
liver late  in  life  on  an  anniversary  occasion.  Jasper 
claimed  nothing  for  himself  but  attributed  his  long 


262  THE  SPOKEN  WORD 

pastorate  and  whatever  influence  he  had  to  the  fact 
that  he  preached  from  only  one  book — the  Bible. 

When  I  was  in  college  I  heard  a  visitor  draw  a 
contrast  between  Cicero  and  Demosthenes.  I  am  not 
sure  that  it  is  fair  to  Cicero  but  it  brings  out  an  im- 
portant distinction.  As  I  recall  it,  the  speaker  said, 
"  When  Cicero  spake  the  people  said,  *  How  well 
Cicero  speaks ' ;  when  Demosthenes  spake  his  hearers 
cried,  *  Let  us  go  against  Philip.'  "  One  impressed 
himself  upon  his  audience  while  the  other  impressed  his 
subject.  It  need  hardly  be  said  that  in  all  effective  ora- 
tory the  speaker  succeeds  in  proportion  as  he  can  make 
his  hearers  forget  him  in  their  absorption  in  the  subject 
that  he  presents.  I  may  add  that  there  is  a  practical 
advantage  in  the  speaker's  diverting  attention  from 
himself.  There  is  only  one  of  him  and  he  would  soon 
become  monotonous  if  he  continually  thrust  himself 
forward;  but,  as  subjects  are  innumerable,  he  can  give 
infinite  variety  to  his  speech  by  putting  the  emphasis 
upon  the  theme. 

It  is  better  that  the  audience,  when  it  breaks  up, 
should  gather  into  groups  and  discuss  what  the 
speaker  said  than  to  go  away  saying,  "  What  a  de- 
lightful speech  it  was,"  and  yet  not  remember  the 
things  said.  Whether  the  statements  made  are  true  or 
not  it  does  no  harm  to  have  them  challenged;  if  some 
dispute  what  has  been  said  and  others  defend  the 
speaker  it  is  certain  that  thought  has  been  aroused, 
and  thinking  leads  to  truth.  That  is  why  freedom  of 
speech  is  so  essential  in  a  republic ;  it  is  the  only  process 
by  which  truth  can  be  separated  from  error  and  made 


THE  SPOKEN  WOED  253 

to  stand  forth  in  all  its  strength.  We  should,  there- 
fore, invite  discussion. 

While  acquaintance  with  the  subject  and  heartfelt 
interest  in  it  are  the  first  essentials  of  convincing 
speech,  there  are  other  qualities  that  greatly  strengthen 
discourse.  First  among  these  I  would  put  clearness  of 
statement,  Jefferson  declared  in  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  that  certain  truths  are  self-evident.  It 
is  a  very  conservative  statement  of  an  important  fact; 
it  could  be  made  stronger:  all  truth  is  self-evident. 
The  best  service  one  can  render  a  truth,  therefore,  is 
to  state  it  so  clearly  that  it  can  be  understood.  This 
does  not  mean  that  every  self-evident  truth  will  be  im- 
mediately accepted  because  there  are  many  things  that 
interfere  with  the  acceptance  of  truth. 

First,  let  us  consider  depth  of  conviction.  Some 
people  take  their  convictions  more  seriously  than 
others.  In  India  I  heard  a  missionary  speak  of  an- 
other person  as  having  "  no  opinions — nothing  but 
convictions  " ;  while  one  of  the  enemies  of  Gladstone 
described  him  as  being  the  only  person  he  ever  knew 
who  "  could  improvise  the  convictions  of  a  lifetime.'* 
Depth  of  conviction  gives  great  force  to  an  individual 
when  he  is  going  in  the  right  direction,  but  he  is  diffi- 
cult to  change  If  he  is  going  in  the  wrong  direction. 
When  I  visited  the  Hermitage  for  the  first  time  they 
told  me  of  an  old  coloured  man,  formerly  a  slave  of 
Jackson's,  who  survived  his  master  many  years.  He 
was,  of  course,  an  object  of  interest  and  many  ques- 
tions were  asked  In  regard  to  Jackson's  characteristics. 
One  visitor  inquired  of  him  If  he  thought  Andrew 


264  THE  SPOKEK  WOED 

Jackson  went  to  heaven.  He  quickly  responded,  "  If 
he  sot  his  head  that  way,  he  did." 

Prejudice  also  delays  the  spread  of  truth.  People 
sometimes  brace  themselves  against  arguments.  If  I 
may  be  pardoned  a  personal  illustration  I  will  cite  a 
case  of  political  prejudice  that  came  under  my  own 
observation.  I  was  speaking  in  a  town  in  western 
Nebraska,  an  out-of-the-way  place  that  I  had  seldom 
visited.  A  friend  heard  a  man  say,  "  Well,  I  never 
heard  him  and  I  thought  I  would  come  and  see  what 
he  has  to  say.'*  And  then,  with  a  determined  look 
upon  his  face  he  added,  "  But  he  will  not  convince 
me."  Political  prejudice  is  not  so  hard  to  overcome  as 
race  prejudice  and  race  prejudice  is  not  so  deep-seated 
as  religious  prejudice;  but  prejudice  of  any  kind, 
whether  it  be  personal,  political,  race,  or  religious, 
seriously  interferes  with  the  progress  of  truth. 

Narrowness  of  vision  often  obstructs  acceptance  of 
truth.  One  must  be  made  to  feel  interested  in  the  sub- 
ject before  he  will  listen  to  that  which  is  said  about  it. 
Aristotle  has  suggested  a  means  by  which  each  one 
can  measure  himself.  "If  he  is  interested  in  himself 
only  he  is  very  small;  if  he  is  interested  in  his  family 
he  is  larger;  if  he  is  interested  in  his  community  he  is 
larger  still."  Thus  he  grows  in  size  as  his  sympathies 
expand — ^the  largest  person  being  the  one  whose  heart 
takes  in  the  whole  world.  In  proportion  as  we  can 
enlarge  the  horizon  of  the  hearer  we  can  increase  the 
number  of  subjects  to  which  he  will  give  attention. 
The  minister  has  an  advantage  in  that  he  deals  with 
the  one  subject  about  which  all  mankind  thinks.    The 


THE  SPOKEK  WOED  266 

soul  yearns  for  God:  it  is  man's  highest  aspiration 
and  his  most  enduring  concern.  When  one's  heart  is 
changed — when  he  is  born  again — ^he  Hstens  to,  under- 
stands and  accepts  arguments  that  he  rejected  before. 

Selfish  interest  is  one  of  the  most  common  obstruc- 
tions to  the  advance  of  truth.  Very  often  this  diffi- 
culty can  be  overcome  by  showing  that  the  party  is 
mistaken  as  to  the  effect  of  the  proposed  measure 
upon  his  interests.  Fortunately  in  matters  of  govern- 
ment a  large  majority  of  the  people  have  interests  on 
the  same  side  and  the  real  task  is  to  make  this  plain. 
Where  there  is  a  real  opposing  interest,  argument  is 
of  little  use  unless  it  can  be  shown  that  the  public  wel- 
fare outweighs  the  personal  interest — that  is,  that  a 
public  interest  is  large  enough  to  swallow  up  the  in- 
terest that  is  private  and  personal. 

Whenever  one  refuses  to  admit  such  a  self-evident 
truth,  for  instance,  as  that  it  is  wrong  to  steal,  don't 
argue  with  him — search  him ;  the  reason  may  be  found 
in  his  pocket. 

Next  to  clearness  of  statement,  I  would  put  con- 
ciseness— the  condensing  of  much  into  a  few  words. 
This  is  a  great  asset  to  a  speaker.  The  moulder  of 
public  opinion  does  not  manufacture  opinion;  he  sim- 
ply puts  it  into  form  so  that  it  can  be  remembered  and 
repeated ;  just  as  my  father  used  bullet-moulds  to  make 
bullets  when  he  was  about  to  go  squirrel  hunting.  The 
moulds  did  not  create  the  lead,  they  simply  put  it  into 
effective  form.  Jefferson  was  the  greatest  moulder  of 
public  opinion  in  the  early  days  of  this  country.  He 
did  not  create  Democratic  sentiment;  he  simply  took 


256  THE  SPOKEN  WORD 

the  aspirations  that  had  nestled  in  the  hearts  of  men 
from  time  immemorial  and  put  them  into  appropriate 
and  epigrammatic  language,  so  that  the  nation  thought 
his  thoughts  after  him,  as  the  world  is  now  doing. 
The  proverbs  of  Solomon  are  priceless  for  the  same 
reason;  they  are  full  of  wisdom — wisdom  so  ex- 
pressed that  it  can  be  easily  comprehended. 

When  I  was  a  boy  my  father  would  call  me  in  from 
work  a  little  before  noon,  read  to  me  from  Proverbs 
and  comment  on  the  sayings  of  the  Wise  Man.  After 
his  death  (when  I  was  twenty)  I  recalled  his  fondness 
for  Proverbs  and  read  the  thirty-one  chapters  through 
each  month  for  a  year.  I  was  increasingly  impressed 
with  their  beauty  and  strength.  I  have  used  many  of 
them  in  speeches.  The  one  I  have  most  frequently 
used  in  the  advocacy  of  reforms  reads:  "A  prudent 
man  foreseeth  the  evil  and  hideth  himself;  but  the 
simple  pass  on,  and  are  punished.'* 

I  have  often  used  a  story  to  illustrate  how  much  can 
be  said  in  a  few  words.  A  man  said  to  another,  "  Do 
you  drink  ?  "  The  man  to  whom  the  question  was 
addressed,  replied  rather  indignantly,  "  That  is  my 
business,  sir.*'  "Have  you  any  other  business?" 
asked  the  first  man.  The  story  is  not  only  valuable  as 
an  illustration  of  brevity  but  it  has  a  moral  side;  if  a 
man  drinks  much  he  soon  has  no  other  business. 

In  this  connection  I  will  speak  of  the  words  to  be 
employed.  Our  use  of  big  words  increases  from  in- 
fancy to  the  day  of  graduation.  I  think  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  with  nearly  all  of  us  the  maximum  is  reached 
on  the  day  when  we  leave  school.    We  use  more  big 


THE  SPOKEN  WORD  267 

words  that  day  than  we  have  ever  used  before  or  will 
ever  use  again.  When  we  go  from  college  into  every- 
day life  and  begin  to  deal  with  our  fellowmen  we  drop 
the  big  words  because  we  are  more  interested  in  mak- 
ing people  understand  us  than  we  are  in  parading  our 
learning.  The  more  earnest  one  is  the  smaller  the 
words  used.  If  a  young  man  used  big  words  to  as- 
sure his  sweetheart  of  his  affection  she  would  never 
understand  him,  but  the  word  love  has  but  one  sylla- 
ble, just  as  the  words  life,  faith,  hope,  home,  food, 
and  work  are  one-syllable  words.  Remember  that 
nearly  every  audience  is  made  up  of  people  who  differ 
in  the  amount  of  book  learning  they  have  received.  If 
you  speak  only  to  those  best  educated  you  will  speak 
over  the  heads  of  those  less  educated.  A  story  is  told 
on  a  great  scientist  who  made  two  holes  in  the  back 
fence  and  showed  them  to  his  wife,  explaining  that 
the  big  hole  was  for  the  cat  and  the  small  hole  for 
the  kitten.  "  But  cannot  the  kitten  go  through  the 
same  hole  as  the  cat?"  inquired  his  wife.  If  you 
use  little  words  you  can  reach  not  only  the  least  learned, 
but  the  most  learned  as  well. 

Illustration  is  one  of  the  most  potent  forms  of  argu- 
ment; we  understand  new  things  by  comparing  them 
with  what  we  know.  Christ  was  a  master  of  illustra- 
tions— the  master.  No  one  of  whom  history  tells  us 
has  ever  used  the  illustration  as  effectively  as  He. 
He  took  the  objects  of  every-day  life  and  made  them 
mirrors  which  reflected  truth.  His  parables  give  us  a 
wide  range  of  illustration — the  Sower  going  forth  to 
sow.  the  Wheat  and  the  Tares,  the  Prodigal  Son,  the 


258  THE  SPOKEN  WORD 

Wise  and  Foolish  Virgins — in  fact,  all  the  illustrations 
that  He  used  might  be  cited  to  prove  the  power  of  this 
form  of  argument. 

The  question  has  been  used  throughout  history;  at 
every  great  crisis  the  orators  of  the  day  have  used  the 
question  form  of  argument.  Its  strength  depends 
upon  the  completeness  with  which  the  speaker  includes 
all  of  the  essentials  involved  in  summing  up  the  situa- 
tion. The  greatest  question  ever  presented  as  an  argu- 
ment was  that  in  which  Christ  concentrated  attention 
upon  the  value  of  the  soul.  No  one  will  ever  place  a 
higher  estimate  upon  the  soul  than  Christ  did  when 
He  asked,  "  What  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  shall  gain 
the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul?  "  No  greater 
question  was  ever  asked,  or  can  be  asked.  (See  Lec- 
ture, "  The  Value  of  the  Soul.") 

Courage  is  the  last  attribute  to  which  I  shall  invite 
your  attention.  The  speaker  must  possess  moral  cour- 
age, and  to  possess  it  he  must  have  faith. 

Faith  exerts  a  controlling  influence  over  our  lives. 
If  it  IS  argued  that  works  are  more  important  than 
faith,  I  reply  that  faith  comes  first,  works  afterward. 
Until  one  believes,  he  does  not  act,  and  in  accordance 
with  his  faith,  so  will  be  his  deeds. 

Abraham,  called  of  God,  went  forth  in  faith  to 
establish  a  race  and  a  religion.  It  was  faith  that  led 
Columbus  to  discover  America,  and  faith  again  that 
conducted  the  early  settlers  to  Jamestown,  the  Dutch 
to  New  York  and  the  Pilgrims  to  Plymouth  Rock. 
Faith  has  led  the  pioneer  across  deserts  and  through 
trackless  forests,  and  faith  has  brought  others  in  his 


THE  SPOKEN  WOED  259 

footsteps  to  lay  in  our  land  the  foundations  of  a  civi- 
lization the  highest  that  the  world  has  known. 

I  might  draw  an  illustration  from  the  life  of  each 
one  of  you.  You  have  faith  in  education,  and  that 
faith  is  behind  your  study;  you  have  faith  in  this  in- 
stitution, and  that  faith  brought  you  here;  your  par- 
ents and  friends  have  had  faith  in  you  and  have 
helped  you  to  your  present  position.  And  back  of  all 
these  manifestations  of  faith  is  your  faith  in  God,  in 
His  Word  and  in  His  Son.  We  are  told  that  without 
faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  God,  and  I  may  add  that 
without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  meet  the  expectations 
of  those  who  are  most  interested  in  you.  Let  me  pre- 
sent this  subject  under  four  heads: 

First — You  must  have  faith  in  yourselves.  Not  that 
you  should  carry  confidence  in  yourselves  to  the  point 
of  displaying  egotism,  and  yet,  egotism  is  not  the  worst 
possible  fault.  My  father  was  wont  to  say  that  if 
a  man  had  the  big  head,  you  could  whittle  it  down, 
but  that  if  he  had  the  little  head,  there  was  no  hope 
for  him.  If  you  have  the  big  head  others  will  help 
YOU  to  reduce  it,  but  if  you  have  the  little  head,  they 
cannot  help  you.  You  must  believe  that  you  can  do 
things  or  you  w41I  not  undertake  them.  Those  who 
lack  faith  attempt  nothing  and  therefore  cannot  pos- 
sibly succeed ;  those  with  great  faith  attempt  the  seem- 
ingly impossible  and  by  attempting  prove  what  man 
can  do. 

But  you  cannot  have  faith  in  yourselves  unless  you 
are  conscious  that  you  are  prepared  for  your  work. 
If  one  is  feeble  in  body,  he  cannot  have  the  confidence 


260  THE  SPOKEN  WOED 

in  his  physical  strength  that  the  athlete  has,  and,  as 
physical  strength  is  necessary,  one  is  justified  in  de- 
voting to  exercise  and  to  the  strengthening  of  the 
body  such  time  as  may  be  necessary. 

Intellectual  training  is  also  necessary,  and  more 
necessary  than  it  used  to  be.  When  but  few  had  the 
advantages  of  a  college  education,  the  lack  of  such 
advantages  was  not  so  apparent.  Now  wh&n  so  many 
of  the  ministers,  lawyers,  physicians,  journalists,  and 
even  business  men,  are  college  graduates,  one  cannot 
afford  to  be  without  the  best  possible  intellectual 
preparation.  When  one  comes  into  competition  with 
his  fellows,  he  soon  recognizes  his  own  intellectual 
superiority,  equality  or  inferiority  as  compared  with 
others.  In  China  they  have  a  very  interesting  bird 
contest.  The  singing  lark  is  the  most  popular  bird 
there,  and  as  you  go  along  the  streets  of  a  Chinese  city 
you  see  Chinamen  out  airing  their  birds.  These  sing- 
ing larks  are  entered  in  contests,  and  the  contests  are 
decided  by  the  birds  themselves.  If,  for  instance,  a 
dozen  are  entered,  they  all  begin  to  sing  lustily,  but  as 
they  sing,  one  after  another  recogizes  that  it  is  out- 
classed and  gets  down  off  its  perch,  puts  its  head  under 
its  wing  and  will  not  sing  any  more.  At  last  there  is 
just  one  bird  left  singing,  and  it  sings  with  enthusiasm 
as  if  it  recognized  its  victory. 

So  it  is  in  all  intellectual  contests.  Put  twenty  men 
in  a  room  and  let  them  discuss  any  important  question. 
At  first  all  will  take  part  in  the  discussion,  but  as  the 
discussion  proceeds,  one  after  another  drops  out  until 
finally  two  are  left  in  debate,  one  on  one  side  and  one 


THE  SPOKEN  WOED  261 

on  the  other.  The  rest  are  content  to  have  their  ideas 
presented  by  those  who  can  present  them  best.  If  you 
are  going  to  have  faith,  therefore,  in  yourselves,  you 
must  be  prepared  to  meet  your  competitors  upon  an 
equal  plane;  if  you  are  prepared,  they  will  be  con- 
scious of  it  as  well  as  you. 

A  high  purpose  is  also  a  necessary  part  of  your 
preparation.  You  cannot  afford  to  put  a  low  purpose 
in  competition  with  a  high  one.  If  you  go  out  to 
work  from  a  purely  selfish  standpoint,  you  will  be 
ashamed  to  stand  in  the  presence  of  those  who  have 
higher  aims  and  nobler  ambitions.  Have  faith  in 
yourselves,  but  to  have  faith  you  must  be  prepared 
for  your  work,  and  this  preparation  must  be  moral 
and  intellectual  as  well  as  physical.  The  preacher 
should  be  the  boldest  of  men  because  of  the  unselfish 
character  of  his  work. 

Second:  Have  faith  in  mankind.  The  great  fault 
of  our  scholarship  is  that  it  is  not  sufficiently  sympa- 
thetic. It  holds  itself  aloof  from  the  struggling 
masses.  It  is  too  often  cold  and  cynical.  It  is  better 
to  trust  your  fellowmen  and  be  occasionally  deceived 
than  to  be  distrustful  and  live  alone.  Mankind  de- 
serves to  be  trusted.  There  is  something  good  in  every 
one,  and  that  good  responds  to  sympathy.  If  you 
speak  to  the  multitude  and  they  do  not  respond,  do 
not  despise  them,  but  rather  examine  what  you  have 
said.  If  you  speak  from  your  heart,  you  will  speak 
to  their  hearts,  and  they  can  tell  very  quickly  whether 
you  are  interested  in  them  or  simply  in  yourself.  The 
heart  of  mankind  is  sound ;  the  sense  of  justice  is  uni- 


262  THE  SPOKEN  WOED 

versal.  Trust  it,  appeal  to  it,  do  not  violate  it.  Peo- 
ple differ  in  race  characteristics,  in  national  traditions, 
in  language,  in  ideas  of  government,  and  in  forms  of 
religion,  but  at  the  heart  they  are  very  much  alike. 
I  fear  the  plutocracy  of  wealth ;  I  respect  the  aristoc- 
racy of  learning;  but  I  thank  God  for  the  democracy  of 
the  heart.  You  must  love  if  you  would  be  loved. 
"  They  loved  him  because  he  first  loved  them  " — this 
is  the  verdict  pronounced  where  men  have  unselfishly 
laboured  for  the  welfare  of  the  whole  people.  Link 
yourselves  in  sympathy  with  your  fellowmen;  mingle 
with  them;  know  them  and  you  will  trust  them  and 
they  will  trust  you.  If  you  are  stronger  than  others, 
bear  heavier  loads;  if  you  are  more  capable  than 
others,  show  it  by  your  willingness  to  perform  a 
larger  service. 

Third:  If  you  are  going  to  accomplish  anything  in 
this  country,  you  must  have  faith  in  your  form  of 
government,  and  there  is  every  reason  why  you  should 
have  faith  in  it.  It  is  the  best  form  of  government 
ever  conceived  by  the  mind  of  man,  and  it  is  spread- 
ing throughout  the  world.  It  is  best,  not  because  it  is 
perfect,  but  because  it  can  be  made  as  perfect  as  the 
people  deserve  to  have.  It  is  a  people's  government, 
and  it  reflects  the  virtue  and  intelligence  of  the  peo- 
ple. As  the  people  make  progress  in  virtue  and  in- 
telligence, the  government  ought  to  approach  more 
and  more  nearly  to  perfection.  It  will  never,  of 
course,  be  entirely  free  from  faults,  because  it  must 
be  administered  by  human  beings,  and  imperfection  is 
to  be  expected  in  the  work  of  human  hands. 


THE  SPOKEN  WOED  263 

Jefferson  said  a  century  ago  that  there  were  nat- 
urally two  parties  in  every  country,  one  which  drew 
to  itself  those  who  trusted  the  people,  the  other  which 
as  naturally  drew  to  itself  those  who  distrusted  the 
people.  That  was  true  when  Jefferson  said  it,  and  it 
is  true  to-day.  In  every  country  there  are  those  who 
are  seeking  to  enlarge  the  participation  of  the  people 
in  government,  and  that  group  is  growing.  In  every 
country  there  are  those  who  are  endeavouring  to  ob- 
struct each  step  toward  popular  government,  and  that 
group  is  diminishing.  In  this  country  the  tendency  is 
constantly  toward  more  popular  government,  and 
every  effort  which  has  for  its  object  the  bringing  of 
the  government  into  closer  touch  with  the  people  is 
sure  of  ultimate  triumph. 

Our  form  of  government  is  good.  Call  it  a  democ- 
racy if  you  are  a  democrat,  or  a  republic  if  you  are 
a  republican,  but  help  to  make  it  a  government  of  the 
people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people.  A  democ- 
racy is  wiser  than  an  aristocracy  because  a  democ- 
racy can  draw  from  the  wisdom  of  the  people,  and  all 
of  the  people  know  more  than  any  part  of  the  people. 
A  democracy  is  stronger  than  a  monarchy,  because, 
as  the  historian,  Bancroft,  has  said:  "  It  dares  to  dis- 
card the  implements  of  terror  and  build  its  citadel  in 
the  hearts  of  men."  And  a  democracy  is  the  most 
just  form  of  government  because  it  is  built  upon  the 
doctrine  that  men  are  created  equal,  that  governments 
are  instituted  to  protect  the  inalienable  rights  of  the 
people  and  that  governments  derive  their  just  powers 
from  the  consent  of  the  governed. 


264  THE  SPOKEN  WOED 

We  know  that  a  grain  of  wheat  planted  in  the 
ground  will,  under  the  influence  of  the  sunshine  and 
rain,  send  forth  a  blade,  and  then  a  stalk,  and  then  the 
full  head,  because  there  is  behind  the  grain  of  wheat 
a  force  irresistible  and  constantly  at  work.  There  is 
behind  moral  and  political  truth  a  force  equally  irre- 
sistible and  always  operating,  and  just  as  we  may  ex- 
pect the  harvest  in  due  season,  we  may  be  sure  of  the 
triumph  of  these  eternal  forces  that  make  for  man's 
uplifting.  Have  faith  in  your  form  of  government, 
for  it  rests  upon  a  growing  idea,  and  if  you  will  but 
attach  yourself  to  that  idea,  you  will  grow  with  it. 

Fourth,  the  subject  presents  itself  in  another  aspect. 
You  must  not  only  have  faith  in  yourselves,  in  hu- 
manity and  in  the  form  of  government  under  Vv^hich 
we  live,  but  if  you  would  do  a  great  work,  you  must 
have  faith  in  God.  I  am  not  a  preacher;  I  am  but  a 
layman;  yet,  I  am  not  willing  that  the  minister  shall 
monopolize  the  blessings  of  Christianity,  and  I  do 
not  know  of  any  moral  precept  binding  upon  the 
preacher  behind  the  pulpit  that  is  not  binding  upon 
the  Christian  and  whose  acceptance  would  not  be  help- 
ful to  every  one.  I  am  not  speaking  from  the  min- 
ister's standpoint  but  from  the  observation  of  every- 
day life  when  I  say  that  there  is  a  wide  difference  be- 
tween the  desire  to  live  so  that  men  will  applaud  you 
and  the  desire  to  live  so  that  God  will  be  satisfied  with 
you.  Man  needs  the  inner  strength  that  comes  from 
faith  in  God  and  belief  in  His  constant  presence. 

Man  needs  faith  In  God,  therefore,  to  strengthen 
him  in  his  hours  of  trial,  and  he  needs  it  to  give  him 


THE  SPOKEN  WORD  265 

courage  to  do  the  work  of  life.  How  can  one  fight 
for  a  principle  unless  he  believes  in  the  triumph  of 
right?  How  can  he  believe  in  the  triumph  of  the  right 
if  he  does  not  believe  that  God  stands  back  of  the 
truth  and  that  God  is  able  to  bring  victory  to  His  side  ? 
He  knows  not  whether  he  is  to  live  for  the  truth  or  to 
die  for  it,  but  if  he  has  the  faith  he  ought  to  have,  he 
is  as  ready  to  die  for  it  as  to  live  for  it. 

Faith  will  not  only  give  you  strength  when  you 
fight  for  righteousness,  but  your  faith  will  bring  dis- 
may to  your  enemies.  There  is  power  in  the  presence 
of  an  honest  man  who  does  right  because  it  is  right  and 
dares  to  do  the  right  in  the  face  of  all  opposition. 
That  is  true  to-day,  and  has  been  true  through  all  his- 
tory. 

If  your  preparation  is  complete  so  that  you  are  con- 
scious of  your  ability  to  do  great  things;  if  you  have 
faith  in  your  fellowmen  and  become  a  colabourer  with 
them  in  the  raising  of  the  general  level  of  society;  if 
you  have  faith  in  our  form  of  government  and  seek  to 
purge  it  of  its  imperfections  so  as  to  make  it  more  and 
more  acceptable  to  our  own  people  and  to  the  oppressed 
of  other  nations ;  and  if,  in  addition,  you  have  faith  in 
God  and  in  the  triumph  of  the  right,  no  one  can  set 
limits  to  your  achievements.  This  is  the  greatest  of 
all  ages  in  which  to  live.  The  railroads  and  the  tele- 
graph wires  have  brought  the  corners  of  the  earth  close 
together,  and  it  is  easier  to-day  for  one  to  be  helpful 
to  the  whole  world  than  it  was  a  few  centuries  ago  to 
be  helpful  to  the  inhabitants  of  a  single  valley.  This 
is  the  age  of  great  opportunity  and  of  great  respon- 


266  THE  SPOKEN  WOED 

sibillty.  Let  your  faith  be  large,  and  let  this  large 
faith  inspire  you  to  perform  a  large  service. 

Because  the  preacher  has  consecrated  himself  to 
God's  service  and  seeks  divine  guidance  from  the  Bible 
and  through  prayer,  he  is  able  to  speak  with  absolute 
confidence.  His  trust  is  the  measure  of  his  strength; 
because  he  knows  what  Christ  has  done  for  him  he 
knows  what  Christ  can  do  for  others.  His  own  ex- 
perience is  the  foundation  of  his  trust  in  the  Gospel 
that  he  preaches.  Because  a  miracle  was  wrought  in 
his  own  life  he  knows  that  the  day  of  miracles  is  not 
past ;  because  one  heart  has  been  regenerated  he  knows 
that  all  hearts  can  be,  and  that  Christ,  through  His 
power  to  transform  the  life  of  each  individual,  can- 
transform  a  world. 

I  beg  you  to  prepare  yourselves  to  proclaim  the 
Word  of  God  by  voice  as  well  as  with  pen.  You  have 
a  mighty  message  for  a  waiting  world — a  message 
worthy  of  all  your  powers  of  heart  and  mind  and 
tongue. 


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S.  S.  Times. 


SPIRITISM 

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FREDERICK  L.  FAGLEY 

Executive   Secretary   Commission   cm  Evangelism 
Congregation  Churches, 

Parish  Evangelism 

An  Outline  of  a  Year's  Program.  $1.00 

Mr.  Fagley  lays  down  a  sensible,  workable  plan  of 
work,  including  the  formalities  and  maintenance  of  an 
evangelistic  committee,  a  program  of  preaching,  methods 
of  personal  work,  deepening  of  the  prayer-life,  etc. 

/.  W.  PORTER 

The  Assurance  of  Salvation 

And  Other  Evangelistic  Sermons.  $1.25 

"Sermons  of  the  distinctly  orthodox  type  and  sug- 
gestive in  outline  and  illustration.  Warm  the  soul  and 
stimulate  the  thought." — Evangelical  Messenger. 

CHARLES  FORBES  TAYLOR   (The  Boy  Evan- 
gelist)      Tj^g  Riveter's  Gang 

and  Other  Revival  Addresses.  $1.25 

"The  value  of  this  book  lies  not  alone  in  the  anecdotes 
and  sermons  that  it  contains,  but  in  the  illustration  of 
how  a  successful  evangelistic  preacher  may  enforce  his 
teaching." — Lookout. 


SELF-HELP 


"WGER  W.  BABSON 

Prea.    Babson's    Statistical 
Organization 

Making  Good  in  Business 

$1.25 

The  famoua  Business  Expert  here 
applies  a  fundamental  knowledge 
of  business  principles  to  daily  busi- 
ness life.  The  latest  work  by  the 
author  of  "Fundamentals  of  Pros- 
perity" is  crammed  with  the  most 
valuable  sort  of  hints  and  sugges- 
tions for  the  attainment  of  a  success- 
ful business  career. 


WILLIAM  GEORGE  JORDAN        Author  of 
— — *'Self  Control",  ete. 

The  Trusteeship  of  Life 

A  Study  in  the  True  Values  of  Existence  $1.25 

A  new  volume  of  Mr.  Jordan's  winning  Essays  which 
have  called  forth  the  hearty  praise  of  Henry  van  Dyke 
who  said:  "They  are  suggestive  and  stimulating.  Hia 
philosophy  has  three  big  little  words — courage,  cheerful- 
ness and  charity." 

BIOGRAPHY,  etc. 


FREDERICK   LYNCH 


Educational  Secretary  of 
The  Church  Peace  Union 


Personal  Recollections  of  Andrew 
Carnegie  $1.50 

"Happily  Dr.  Lynch's  little  volume  of  personal  re- 
collections of  Andrew  Carnegie  admirably  supplements 
the  autobiography.  These  two  books  taken  together  will 
explain  the  real  Carnegie  to  his  countrymen."    Independent, 

PHILIP  I.  ROBERTS 

"Charlie"  Alexander 

A  Study  in  Personality.  $1.00 

Dr.  Edgar  Whitaker  Work  says :  "Brief  as^  it  is,  it 
serves  its  purpose  successfully.  It  leaves  a  picture  of 
the  great  singer  in  the  mind  that  cannot  be  forgotten." 

DAVID  GREGG,  D.D. 

A  Book  of  Remembrance 

Selections  from  the  writings  of  Dr.  David 
Gregg.    Compiled  by  Frank  Dilnot.  $2.00 

A  book  of  rare  stimulus  and  devotional  charm  over- 
flowing with  precious  thoughts  selected  from  the  works 
of  the  well-known  preacher  and  devotional  \?riter  by  one 
well  Qualified  for  the  task. 


Pnncnon  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Ubrary 


1    1012  01130  3593 


Date  Due 

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